War in a Footstep
by PreventerZero3
Summary: AC 200: A reunion is organized to strengthen the bonds of friendship forged years ago in the fires of war. But someone has other plans: war, like a dance in three parts, starts with a single step. 1xR 2xH 6x9
1. Prologue

**June 6, AC 200**

**0630 hours**

**Brussels, Earth**

"Preventer Metal to Preventer Wind. There should be a door 10 yards to your right. Go in."

"Understood." The blond man closed the distance to the designation, pressing his back against the damp wall near the doorway, a chill running up his spine, shivering in unconscious response. He lifted his gun to eye level and inched closer, squinting through the darkness to take in the interior of the ruined dwelling. A portion of the ceiling had fallen in a pile of rubble and a wall had partially caved in, with what must have once been a mobile suit arm hiding the south portion of the room behind a tangled mass of rusted metal.

"Preventer Wind to Preventer Fire, I have a visual. Two doors, closed. Undetonated mobile suit shells. Proceed with caution."

He heard a noise behind him and spun around, training his gun on the cause. An emaciated man, a startled expression on his face, froze for an instant, then whimpered, wringing the edge of a ripped sleeve in his hand. Preventer Wind let out a breath and waved the man away with his gun. Picking up a loaf of bread and an apple he had dropped in fear, the homeless man scrambled away and stooped to enter a nearby shelter built of cardboard held together by twisted metal shrapnel.

Static filled Preventer Wind's right ear for an instant as Wufei's clipped tones came through the line once more : "Preventer Metal here. The informant is behind the door to the south. He's querying the network again. Access point confirmed."

"Preventer Fire to Preventer Wind. Hold your position, I'm almost there."

A woman in her twenties rounded the corner at a run and skidded to a halt, short black hair falling in her face. "Noin", he mouthed silently, and nodded his head towards the doorway. She ejected the clip, checked the bullets, then clicked it back in place as she slowly closed in on the other side of the entrance, her blue eyes intent on his face : "You give the signal", she whispered.

"Preventer Metal to Preventer Wind", Wufei's voice started again, the tense tone in his voice accentuating his Chinese accent, "The hacker is downloading classified files dealing with Mobile Dolls. Move out quickly - we can't let him acquire those files."

He nodded to Noin and ran in the room, dropping to a crouch behind the remains of a mobile suit console: Treize faction, based on the color. _Still protecting me after all these years, my friend_. A warm body dropped in beside him: "Zechs, remember, we need the hacker alive". He grunted in answer, and the set of his shoulders announced that he was going to be stubborn about this, but instead of pushing the issue, he propped his gun up on the partially rusted metal and scanned the room. "Four… three… two… go!" He lunged forward, and rammed the closed door with his right shoulder, falling in the room and rolling back to his feet, his gun held firmly in his grip. Someone was hunched over a computer terminal in the far corner.

"You, over there! Move away from the terminal!"

Next to him, Noin trained her weapon in the direction, and unhooked the flashlight on her utility belt to point in the perpetrator's direction. The light wavered as her fingers went lax in astonishment. "It can't be…" she breathed, unable to believe what she saw. There, her hand on the keyboard, her usually serene face looking gaunt and washed out in the harsh light… was Ann.

The brown haired woman shook her head in the dim lighting, feeling no sense of surprise at all at who had shown up, who had found her. She had left a small trail of breadcrumbs for the Preventers to follow and see where it led. And the ones who had come were the two she'd hoped to see - Fire and Wind. After all, they were former OZ officers, two of the best she'd ever come across in her career, barring only one. She had worked with them before while they were still OZ officer until the Eve Wars ended, then with Fire in starting up the Preventers four years ago to guard peace on both the Earth and the colonies, Wind coming along during the Mariemeia crisis. They'd both left for a year or so, but had come back to help hold together the peace that was so fragile at times.

She turned towards the second voice to see Noin, Fire, standing there next to Wind, a stunned look on her face, one that mirrored briefly on Zech's before his went impassive. A small smile flitted across her face - it was a trick that Ann had perfected years ago and honed into an art these past few years in dealing with bureaucrats. "Why are you so surprised, Noin?" Without waiting for an answer, she turned back to the glowing screens. "You're both in time to see his dream die."

Zechs slowly lowered his gun and put it back in its holster. "Whatever reason you had for doing what you did... I know _he_ wouldn't have approved", he grated, his steel blue eyes riveted on the floor, avoiding her determined expression. "Take her away," he called through his headset as two other Preventers rushed in the room. He let her file out of the room with the two agents as her escort but still could not bring himself to look at her. He let out a sigh and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes, his hand going up to massage the bridge of his nose. _Trust Treize to come back and haunt him._

Noin felt dumbstruck, eyes flickering around the room, trying to absorb what she had just seen. "_Ann_ was the hacker?" she choked out. "What in the world could have possessed her to do something like this?" And worse yet, why didn't she tell her anything? She had become really close to the older woman after the war, a bond forming between them, a friendship that had only strengthened during the X-18999 crisis. They kept in contact even outside of work, and Mariemeia was a common sight at their apartment when duty called Ann to work even later than she usually did. She found herself shaking her head subconsciously. She supposed it was all too sudden... _I mean, how can one expect to conduct a raid... and find your best friend, not to mention, the _last_ person you'd expect to be there, is the one responsible? _

She turned to Zechs, who was refusing to make eye contact with Ann as the backup team escorted her out of the room. Yet, somehow, she found herself looking in Ann's direction despite her best attempts not to. Ann was looking straight down at the ground, meek as a lamb being carried to slaughter. Noin shuddered, repressing the analogy - it struck too close to home. Noin's eyes narrowed as one of the escorts started behaving unnecessarily rough, prodding her to move faster, and before she knew it, she was shouting at the Preventer, warning him about proper decorum. After all, no matter what she may have done...Ann was _still _the Commander-In-Chief of the Preventers...at least until the President said otherwise. She turned to Zechs. Oddly enough, he seemed to be trying to avoid her gaze as desperately as she was trying to avoid Ann's. Feeling her gaze on him, he raked a hand though his hair and pushed himself off the wall with his shoulders. Stuffing his hands in his pockets he walked silently to the terminal. Reaching the computer, he stared at it blankly for a short while before resting the palms of his hands flat over the cool metal and letting his head drop forward in a cascade of blond strands. Noin closed the distance between them, and caught his arm, leaning her forehead on his sleeve. "She's not you."

"But why..." he whispered, his voice hoarse, "I should be the one to understand her... why she did... what she did... but I don't..."

She shook her head in answer. "What makes you think that, Zechs? I'm closer to her than you are, or at least, I thought so, but I didn't know about it either!"

"Noin...was that...how you felt?" She was silent for a moment, considering her words. "How...I felt? Maybe, Zechs. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have been able to believe that she was the one responsible. Never."

He shook his head. "I meant... back then... when I... the Earth, the Colonies, Treize...even you..." Zechs's hands closed into fists on the keyboard and he felt Noin's hold on him tighten. _I betrayed you. I betrayed all of you. And I still don't know why._

"Four years, Zechs. That was four years ago. It's over. It was a confusing time for everyone. Right now we have other problems to face and questions to ask and, frankly, I think Ann would appreciate it if we were the ones to do the asking."

"Who am I to ask anything of her? Who I am to judge her?" He turned away from her and typed in the commands for a data dump, the ring on his left hand glittering in the green light of the workstation screen, watching as the machine wrote the contents of its RAM to file. They had to figure out what she sent and to whom as soon as they could. Anything to avoid confronting her.

Noin looked at him, watched as he leaned over the terminal, as his hands flew across the keyboard, typing in the commands mechanically. The slight annoyance she felt gave way to something greater. He was ready to investigate, ready to do anything other than confront Ann. Why couldn't he see that she needed them now, more than ever? Her hands balled into fists. _Sometimes, Zechs was such a fool. _Without warning, she reached up, one hand grabbing hold of the front of his Preventer jacket, yanking him to face her direction. The suddenness of her actions had caught him by surprise, a surprise that was mirrored in his eyes. It was a good thing, as she doubted she'd have even budged him had he been expecting it. Her other hand came up and the resounding sound of a slap reverberated across the room. Not giving him a chance to react, she looked straight at him, letting a hint of adamancy creep into her voice to show him she was serious. "Listen to me: Ann needs us, now more than ever. Can't you see that? You saw how that Preventer treated her! We're her best bet now, perhaps the only ones she can really trust fully anymore. We need that trust, if we're going to get to the bottom of this."

Zechs cradled his red cheek with a hand to ease the sting. He was weak, he knew it. He could not face Ann and wonder if he would see himself in her. And yet, he could not stand having Noin look at him that way either. She had never looked at him that way, not even in the midst of the war in space, when he had betrayed everyone, including himself. Even back then, she had been his strength. But today, she did not understand; he could see it reflected in her eyes. He always expected too much of her, like he expected too much of himself. Zechs tore his eyes away, reaching into his Preventer jacket and took out a disk that he inserted in the terminal, copying the files to it. A few more keystrokes and he had sent a trace. What it reported only added to his sense of numbness - he wasn't surprised. He couldn't be, after everything else.

"Gundam frequency 01. She sent a message to Heero Yui."


	2. Chapter 1

**June 4, AC 200**

**Seaside manor, Florida Keys, Earth**

_It felt good,_ Quatre thought, as he stepped out of his transport and on to the pier, _to be on Earth again_. It reminded him of the past and the year he spent fighting for the colonies' freedom. Most of all, it made him realize how much closer he was to seeing his friends again, some he hadn't seen in years. He stood motionless, inhaling the breeze and savoring its salty essence. He had chosen the seaside for a reason - no colony was capable of creating vast ocean ecosystems yet and the ocean was very uniquely "Earth". The young man took a step onto the pier, remembering that just a few hours ago he was in space and it always took a moment to adjust to the gravity. Even if he was quicker than others at adjusting, it was still a strange, awkward sensation at first.

A large hand dropped on to his shoulder and squeezed it. "It has been three years, a long time for a young man like you, Master Quatre." Looking over to Rashid, Quatre smiled at the tall, dark-skinned Maganac commander. He could almost look the man in the eye now - he'd shot up when puberty had kicked in two years ago. "Yes, it has been. Far too long to be away from friends." The young Arab returned his attention to the island ahead of him and gazed at a lush tropical mansion. It was set back from the beach and was surrounded by gardens, with birds of paradise and other colorful vegetation. "This is great." Quatre commented, letting his attention stray to the cloudless blue sky. "A tropical vacation by the sea. It is the perfect place for us to meet, though I wasn't sure at first. It sounded too peaceful when I heard about it." He added. "But it is exactly what we need to forge our friendships again." The man beside him nodded. _If there were any doubts, he would have said something_, Quatre thought. It was the perfect start and the perfect place for a new adventure that didn't involve war, bloodshed or politics.

A white limousine pulled into the driveway to the mansion that he was looking at, interrupting his musings. Coming to a halt, there was a moment of stillness that was broken by one of the rear doors opening, the occupants stepping out. Three blond women looked around and one spied Quatre and Rashid, an arm lifting to wave to them.

"Quatre!" Relena shouted, a grin spreading across her face as she yelled his name. Beside her, Sally waved as well and the third woman, with long platinum hair, merely stared in their direction for a long moment before lifting her head slightly. Relena glanced at her as she dropped her arm. "Dorothy, admit it - you're happy to be here as well, or you wouldn't have come at all with me."

Dorothy looked at the young woman who was not only her friend, but someone she'd admired from the beginning those five years ago in the Sanq Kingdom - a lifetime ago, it seemed. "You're right, Miss Relena, I am happy to be here. I just don't feel like letting everyone know."

Relena laughed. "Please, Dorothy, I have no wish to be called 'Miss Relena'. I'm just Relena. No titles, no pleasantries. We're here for a vacation, to relax." As if to offset her words another vehicle pulled up behind their limousine, several men and women stepping out from it. All were in casual clothes but still seemed to be wearing similar styles, as if they were in uniform, standing out like a sore thumb - a Preventer guard detail.

Sally looked over at them, lifting a brow at the discussion topic. Yes, it was a vacation, but she still wasn't sure about the location or the mansion's security. She was pleased that she had talked Relena into allowing her to hand-pick the security, though at first it had been a hard sell to the young woman. "An actual vacation, for once. Well, it should be interesting," she said with a smile. "I'm going to speak to my lieutenant and see if we can position security." She didn't feel right unless she was working and protecting Relena was still on her mind even if she was supposed to be on vacation with the others.

Quatre waved at Relena, delighted to see her and was pleasantly surprised to see Dorothy, never having received confirmation nor decline from the Duchess. He glanced over at Rashid. "I'll meet you in the front hall," he said, then dashed up the pier toward the limos. When he arrived, he was almost breathless, but managed to straighten his clothing as he approached the vehicles. "It's good to see you, Relena. And Dorothy, I'm very happy to see you too."

Relena smiled again. "Thank you for inviting us. I apologize for all of the security, but Commander Ann insisted that I take a guard contingent and Sally's in charge, as you can see." Her smile faltered slightly at the adMission and reminder that even on a vacation she could never truly get away from who and what she was - a powerful politician in the affairs of the Earth Sphere Alliance.

Dorothy glanced at her friend then stepped forward, offering her hand to the young man. "Mr...I mean, Quatre, it is good to see you again. We're happy to be here." A small smirk crossed her face. "You've outdone yourself with this place - it's spectacular. I'm sure we'll have a wonderful time here."

Quatre took her hand and shook it, giving her a wry, understanding look. "It's wonderful to see you again, Dorothy." He glanced over to Relena and Sally. "And don't worry, Relena, we can arrange it so we can't see them and they can do their job." He grinned. "We'll have a splendid time, I promise."

"I trust you have your own security?" Sally asked, one eyebrow raised in query.

"Only the best." Quatre said, nodding. "You can try to have some fun too, Miss Po. I have everything under control, it's safe."

Dorothy nodded at his words, retracting her hand. "Your Maganac's, I assume?"

"Of course." Quatre replied. "They're compentant, and I trust them with my life."

Sally relaxed a little. If the Maganac's were involved in the security, she has less work to do. "Well, that's good. I still want to set up a perimeter, though."

Relena nodded to Sally. "If you must." She had to be gracious about it, after all. The sounds of the trunk being opened and their luggage being taken out could be heard from the rear of the limousine. She glanced behind her towards the noise, then looked back to Quatre, gaze flickering past him to note the aforementioned Maganac's coming up behind their boss.

Quatre turned to Rashid. "Rashid, you remember Relena, Miss Po, and Dorothy." The large man nodded and extended a hand to Relena. "It is good to see you, Ms. Peacecraft." He glanced at Dorothy and Sally. "And you too, Ms. Po, and Lady Dorothy - Quatre speaks very highly of all of you!"

Relena shook Rashid's hand and released it, then turned to Dorothy and both of them dissolved into quiet giggles at both the statement and at the sight of Quatre's faint blush at the effusive praise. After a moment, Relena looked at Quatre and his friends. "Thank you for the compliment, Rashid, I'm sure that we'll be perfectly safe in your capable hands."

The older man nodded. "Indeed, and I must take my capable hands and speak with your security." He glanced at Sally. "Commander Po, could you, just for a moment, introduce me to your head of security?"

Sally nodded, "Of course. Excuse me, ladies." She signaled Rashid to follow her to the lieutenant, the larger man falling into step beside her, with the rest of the Maganac's trailing in their wake.

Quatre gestured vaguely towards the house, thinking it was too pleasant of a day to sit around and wait for security detail to be arranged. Knowing Sally, she would take hours before she relinquished her duty to Rashid. "While we are waiting for Sally, why don't I show you ladies in?"

Relena and Dorothy both nodded and Relena looked at the young man. "That sounds great - I think we both need to stretch our legs after that trip." She looked around the grounds again, trying to see if she recognized anyone. "Who else is scheduled to show up?"

"Well, Duo and Hilde should be arriving later today and Trowa is expected late afternoon or early evening, depending on his schedule." He smiled slightly - he hadn't seen Trowa in a long time, but he visited Duo and Hilde when his business brought him to L2. "Heero... I couldn't track him down." He had the grace to look disappointed. "And Wu Fei is in Brussels and will try to catch up in a few days."

Relena nodded and ignored the pointed glance that Dorothy sent her. "It'll be good to see Duo and Hilde again - I expect to hear that they're getting married any day now."

Quatre laughed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I don't know about that. Duo, he's not the marrying type, even if his friends encourage him. But I do think Hilde is expecting it." He looked at Dorothy as they climbed the stairs of the mansion. "I will have your things brought to your rooms. But before that, any suggestions for what we should do first?"

Dorothy looked back at him, then smiled. "We're here in the tropics with white sandy beaches and the ocean. I recommend that we get into bathing suits and enjoy the scenery."

"That's a very good idea!" Quatre said, pleased Dorothy suggested the beaches. It was why he picked the place, after all, but he felt reluctant to try and play the pushy host. He looked at Relena. "How about you, Relena?" The girl in question nodded, the smile still not having left her face. "Then it's settled. Meet you down in the foyer in fifteen minutes?"

Dorothy agreed. "We'll be ready by that time."

"Excellent!" Quatre exclaimed. He showed them up a set of stairs and pointed down the hall. "Your rooms are right down the hall, the first two doors on the right."

Relena went in the direction indicated, opening the door to one of the rooms and walking in. An open window let in a small breeze, fluttering the pale green gauze curtains. "Oh, good, they're not pink." She smiled at her own joke, remembering a time when it seemed to be her signature color. Then again, she'd been younger and more than a bit naive. The bed was situated next to the open window, the other set of windows to the right of it closed at the moment. A noise behind her made her turn to see one of the Preventer agents setting her luggage just inside the door. She smiled her thanks before he disappeared, a tune wafting down the hall from his whistling. She started with the bigger suitcase, rolling it to the bed and settling it on top and opening it. Taking out the first item, she looked around and spied the closet. "Perfect." The next few minutes were full of her hanging up the dresses she'd brought, along with settling the rest of her clothing into the set of drawers she'd also found. After pulling on a swimsuit, she smoothed down the hem of the shorts she'd put on over it, grabbing a white sun hat, walking out into the hallway again. "Dorothy, where are you?"

"I'm right here, Miss Relena!" Dorothy quickly ducked out of her room in a simply scandalous little bikini in a brilliant shade of magenta, waving at her friend with a pair of matching flip-flops in her hand. "Let me find my new sunglasses and I'll be ready to go!"

Relena blinked at the sight of so much skin and so little magenta on one person.

"There they are!" proudly announced Dorothy as she exited her room again, voluminous -and trendy- designer shades perched on her nose. She bent down to slip on her flip-flops and straightened out. "I brought so much luggage, Miss Relena, it was no easy feat finding those sunglasses. But aren't they simply perfect for a day at the beach?" She threw a quick look at herself in the hallway mirror, tossing back her hair, and sticking out her chest to display her new acquisitions to their best advantage...and to accentuate her curves to the fullest.

"How many pairs did you bring with you, Dorothy?" Relena felt the urge to ask that question, though she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer. Sometimes Dorothy and her penchant for fashion left her feeling dowdy and under-dressed, though that term didn't quite fit at this moment.

"Well, I have these, but I also brought a few more demure ones, and those darling little silver ones, if we need to be more dressed up", Dorothy answered as she made her way down the stairs, "Why? Do you want to borrow one? Oh, and did you pick up some towels?"

Relena held up the towel she had brought. "Got it. And no, I'm fine. I just generally only have one pair, two at the most. At least you found the ones you wanted for that outfit."_ Or whatever you wish to call that outfit. The men will stare, the women will glare, and Dorothy gets what she wants - everyone looking at her._

As if on cue, Quatre's voice came from down below. "Ladies, are we ready to go down to the beach?"

"Definitely!" cheered Dorothy, "I have been meaning to get a tan for months now, but I've been stuck in Brussels since winter. Lead the way, Quatre!"

Quatre stared for a moment at Dorothy, who sauntered down the stairs and passed him, then gave a weak smile to Relena when she neared. She gave him a sympathizing look and resisted the urge to pat his shoulder. Together the three of them paused long enough to adjust hats and sunglasses before venturing out onto the grounds behind the mansion. Walking down the path, Relena looked around at the exquisite lawn and the greenery of the island that Quatre had found for them to vacation on. "This is a wonderful place that you were able to get for us. How did you ever find it?"

Quatre laughed at that, grateful for the chance to talk. "It was actually quite easy, Miss Relena. One of Winner Enterprises' clients, the CEO in fact, was on site of one of our joint projects out in L4. We had dinner one evening and we were talking about places to vacation and where we'd each been in that respect. He was quite horrified to learn that I had never been to the tropics on Earth and insisted that the next time I had the time to avail myself to his own property. He and his family rarely have the time to come here anymore and it was more of a vacation getaway than an actual home. That's when I got the idea to get everyone together and sent out the feelers for feedback. And now that we're here, we can enjoy ourselves to our hearts' content." He gave the two women a slightly cocky grin. "And not a single reporter is allowed onto this island, since it's small enough to not have a tourist trade and there's no place for them to set up camp or stay the night."

Relena smiled back. "That is some of the best news I've heard in a very long time. So I can wear a swimsuit without worry that some photographer is out there taking pictures of me with mystery men and the CEO of Winner Enterprises?" At Quatre's nod she gave an unexpected whoop of joy. "Yes!"

Quatre laughed at the reaction, glancing over at Dorothy. She nodded slightly, the two sharing a knowing glance. Perhaps this was the best place for Relena at the moment, away from the pressures of the conference room, away from the press and the public's need to know her every move. There was a fine line between her being loved by the people and the people being obsessed with her. Relena tilted her head back to gaze up at the blue sky, wisps of clouds high above the trio. "This will be the best vacation I've had since the coup."

"Glad to hear you say that, Miss." Quatre tried hard to stop smiling constantly but found that it was nigh impossible. "And here we are. So, what do you two think?"

Relena and Dorothy came to a halt at the edge between the lush lawn and that of the white sandy beach that stretched out in front of them. The view had been covered by a grove of palm trees and shrubbery.

"It's simply magical!" Relena sighed contentedly.

**Preventers Headquarters, Brussels**

Zechs unbuckled his shoulder holster and tossed it unceremoniously in his open locker. Metal hit metal with a hollow -but satisfying- noise. He pulled the grimy uniform Preventer shirt over his head, dropping it in a heap at the bottom of the locker. Noin would probably complain, and remind him that they were Preventers, that they had protocol to follow, but he was weary of these pointless sting operations. So a hacker was accessing their data banks, instead of tracking the source to catch them in the act, they should just hack their data stream back at them.

Treize would probably say that it wasn't the honorable thing to do. Noin and Une would remind him that hacking was definitely illegal, and that laws were for everyone. Somehow, ever since he stood in the ashes of his ruined land, he came to the conclusion they didn't.

Wufei's head popped from behind a row of lockers, his mouth set in a grim line. Zechs barely repressed a sigh, he knew that particular frown well, it was the expression that screamed: "_Une is calling a meeting. I know you will hate it. But no one else would come_." He ran a hand through his blond hair, and crouched down to rummage through a duffel bag in search for an elastic band. There wasn't much he could do to make himself presentable on such short notice, after spending hours tracking down this hacker, who sent them rummaging through heaps of garbage in the municipal dump.

"You stink", called Wu Fei before exiting the men's locker room.

"I'll be in the conference room in 5", answered Zechs.

He pulled his hair back in a ponytail, picked out a standard-issue Preventers T-shirt, gave it a quick smell test, then just shrugged and slipped it on. It couldn't be worse than what he was wearing now. He quickly swapped pants as well, and put his grimy boots back on. He grabbed his jacket, kicked the locker closed, and headed out.

Nothing like a meeting to end this horrible day.

Une sat down at one end of the conference table, settling the papers in her hand in a more arranged and organized manner, laying them out before her. Tucking a lock of brown hair behind one ear, she looked at the top one, glancing up as the door opened and a familiar head of dark hair poked itself into the room.

"Am I too early?" Noin asked, opening the door a little more before walking into the room, glancing at the empty chairs scattered around it, one eyebrow raised in query.

Une gave a small snort, shaking her head. "No, you're just the second one to show up, which means you're on time and the other agents are probably dragging their heels, but while I expect that from most of the male half of our population, it is a horrible excuse for an agent."

Noin gave a small laugh at the comment. "They're not all that bad... just some of them. Zechs should be here any moment and I'm sure Wu Fei is right behind him. Tell me, do you think the man will ever loosen up, even a little? I'm amazed that Sally hasn't read him the riot act."

Une smiled. "I'm sure she has, but not around the rest of the agents. He has calmed down a small bit, which is a relief for those who report to him. But," she frowned, looking at the clock then back down at her work, "that is neither here nor there. Something to talk about over drinks at the bar down the street, not now." Noin nodded, duly chastised, also looking at her watch.

As if summoned by the conversation, Wu Fei pushed the glass door of the conference room and stalked in, dropping in a chair like so much dead weight. "Merquise will be here soon. I'd suggest not sitting too close."

"Pray tell, what is wrong with him now?" Une frowned again, this time almost looking like her old self. Noin saw the expression flash across her face and gave an inner shudder.

A few minutes later, the tall blond Preventer walked in, his clothes rumpled, and his hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, leaving a trail of dried dirt behind him on the pristine carpet of the headquarters conference room. "I just arrived, I haven't had time to write my report yet". He sat down at the end of the long rectangular table, and crossed his legs, leaning back, "To make a long story short... it was a dupe signal. We spent all day digging around in a landfill. No trace of the hacker. We couldn't find the relay either. Between all the discarded technology and some mobile suits shells which were still emitting low level radiation... we were looking for a needle in a haystack."

Une nodded, looking around at her top agents, the ones she trusted the most. "I see. That's distressing and not what I wanted to hear. The Security Council is wanting answers and my head on a platter if they don't get one soon on who's doing this." She paused, sighing softly. "Any suggestions on how to step things up, tighten the noose on this person?"

Zechs crossed his arms and looked at Une straight in the eye. "Hack him right back."

Wu Fei shrugged, "And who do you think could do that? We can't even catch him in our systems. He's too fast."

The words were even, but Zechs's voice was almost a challenge: "Heero Yui."

**Off the coast of the Florida Keys, Earth**

"The ocean is huge." Hilde commented, eyes fixed on the expanse of blue water beneath the plane, taking in everything. "Wow, I'm impressed. I never thought…" she trailed off, words failing her.

"Yeah, books and photos never do it justice. You have to see it for yourself. Wait 'til you see it at night, with the moonlight on the water." Duo Maxwell replied, guiding the yoke of the prop plane he was flying. He had rented it at the space port and insisted on flying to the destination himself. The clear skies were blue, with few down drafts and almost no turbulence. It was a little disappointing to the former Deathscythe pilot; he liked a little excitement to his flights now and then. He lived by flying by the seat of his pants.

Hilde looked out the window, cornflower blue eyes wide as she watched the sea roll by like an endless canvas. Duo smirked, watching her out of the corner of one eye. She was really cute when she got all excited. He loved how she practically bounced in her seat and pointed to various ships she saw during the flight over. _Damn, and the girl was wearing shorts and a very cute little tank top that showed her muscular arms and perky breasts. No bra either. It must be my lucky day._ Duo swallowed and turned his attention back to the flight. The last thing he needed was to drive the plane into the sea trying to get a peek at his gal's nipples. No way, he'd promised Hilde he'd behave and damn it all, he didn't need the repair fees on the prop plane added to his already steep vacation bill.

"I see an island." Hilde said, pointing to a speck of land. "I think that's it, isn't it?"

Duo checked their position and nodded. "Yup, we're almost there. Won't be long babe. Sun, sand, partying and old friends! Should be a hell of a week!" Hilde nodded, sitting back in her seat and snapping on her seat belt. Carefully, Duo guided the plane down, and took careful note of the longitude and latitude on his charts. He was pretty certain where he was going. Quatre's invitation read as a house on the south side of the island near the water. He could access it by the sea since the prop was a pontoon, and he could land it in the water and tether it at the dock. He guided the plane around the island as they came in and Duo brought it in a little low to get a look at the beach side and the residence there. It surprised him to see a small group of people out on the beach.

Two very attractive women in bikinis and a tall blond guy. "That has to be it." Duo said, circling the plane around for a closer view. He felt the urge to rub his eyes in disbelief -damn, was that Relena and Dorothy? Dorothy was impressive, he thought - tall, great rack. Now, if only she had a bazooka...nothing hotter than a babe in a bikini with a bazooka…

Something hit his shoulder. "Duo Maxwell, I hope you're flying and not daydreaming!" Hilde looked out the window and blinked at the bikini-clad girls. "And no, I will not be a lesbian for you this weekend."

Duo sighed. He hadn't even had the chance to ask. Life was unfair. "Yes ma'am!"

On the beach, Dorothy shaded her eyes against the sun, and peered into the sky, watching a plane come in for what could be a either a text-book, or a catastrophic, landing. "Who do you think that is?" She glanced over at Quatre for information.

"Duo." Quatre replied, following the plane with his gaze, also shading his eyes with an upraised hand.

"Really? Interesting. Does he have to fly so low, or is his hair dragging him down?" This was from the woman with hair down to her knees, of course. The irony of the statement was ignored. Relena started to cough, waving off Quatre's inquiring gaze.

Quatre lifted a brow. "I'm sure he was just showing off. This is Duo we're talking about, after all."

Dorothy gave a very unlady-like snort at the thought, causing Quatre to look at her in amazement for a split-second. "I wonder where they got the plane and who was the fool to lease it to that idiot of a pilot."

Relena broke in, biting her lower lip to hold in the snicker that threatened to break through still. "How long do you think it will take for them to get here?"

"Fifteen minutes, give or take." Quatre explained. He glanced at Dorothy. "My professional eye says only a man with skill would be capable of flying that low in that way." Dorothy just shrugged in response. Quatre watched the plane as it circled over head than came in for a landing on the smooth water. He signaled to the girls. "This way to the pier. We can meet them there!" Both women nodded, Relena smiling as the trio started towards the pier that was near the one that Quatre had docked at earlier. Walking up to the pier, Quatre saw the plane float to a stop at the dock and a figure in shorts and a red T-shirt climb out and tether the plane to the dock. Quatre waved and picked up his pace.

Hilde stepped out onto the dock, moving past Duo, waving madly at the small group. "Hey! We made it! This place is fantastic!"

"I'm glad you like it!" Quatre replied, jogging up on the wooden pier, just in time to help Duo with the luggage.

Duo tossed him a bag and a grin. "Nice location," Duo added. "And I see you've already started the party without us. Man, that's a little unfair, isn't it?"

Quatre laughed and clapped his friend on the back. "Think of it as us warming the beach up for you."

Turning to Relena, Duo nodded. "Lady Relena, good to see you away from politics for once." He side glanced Dorothy suspiciously, never having really met the woman, though he'd heard tales over the past few years. "So, I guess the gang isn't all here yet?"

Relena shook her head. "We're the first, second and third to show up. The others should be here before the end of the day, or so Quatre thinks."

Quatre nodded affirmatively. "Yes."

Duo hauled a suitcase up out of the small cargo space. "Well, then, I guess Hilde and I need to get settled in before we can join the party. I hope you brought some booze or it's going to be a dull vacation!"


	3. Chapter 2

**June 5, AC 200 **

**Seaside manor, Florida Keys, Earth**

The man standing by the door threw an irritated look at the watch on his wrist. The glowing green numbers glared back at him: 0600 hours, Earth time. His body was still technically on colony time; on colony gravity, as well, but somehow it never seemed to matter to him. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, picked up a small duffel bag, glanced at his watch once more, then forcefully jabbed at the doorbell. Once. Twice.

A few moments later the door opened and a bleary-looking middle-eastern man opened it, hair disheveled, his fez, probably tossed on his head in a hurry as he ran out of his room. The Maganac blinked at the visitor: a young man, on the short side, dressed simply with a pair of worn jeans and a white T-shirt. He was scrawny but muscular, like a child who grew up too fast, and sported short, unruly brown hair. But what struck him was that he was scowling. Angrily. That's when it hit him: "Heero?" Lunging forward, he grabbed him in a bear hug, as he bellowed: "Master Quatre, it's Heero!"

Abdul whirled around, still holding the stunned newcomer. "Master Heero! You have arrived! Master Quatre will be delighted you are here!" He then released the younger man, recalling certain things he had heard about him. "I shall go and retrieve him at once!" Suiting actions to words, Abdul ran up the stairs that were just beyond the foyer of the house, going to one door and banging on it once before settling for knocking in a slightly more subdued manner, lest he wake the whole house. "Master Quatre!" he called through the closed door, his voice hushed, "You have a guest!"

After a moment and the sound of someone stumbling to the door, it was opened to reveal a disheveled blond head and bleary aquamarine eyes. "What is it, Abdul?"

Abdul merely noted that Quatre seemed decent enough to receive at least this one guest, grabbing his arm and dragging him out of the room. "Come quickly!" Quatre made a half-hearted protest before being bustled downstairs. At the doorway he halted, eyes brightening at the sight of the other man. "Heero!"

Heero was still standing on the doorstep, in the same exact spot he had been left before Abdul charged up the stairs, a duffel bag in one hand and a laptop carrier slung on his shoulder. "Long time no see, Quatre", he answered in his usual flat tone.

Quatre smiled, though he made no move to hug his friend as he had done to the guests who had arrived the day before. "However did you find out? I was worried that you wouldn't make it, Heero. I sent an invitation to the last address I had for you, but it was returned."

A raised eyebrow and a shrug was the only answer, then Heero took a few steps in and looked at the opulent foyer around him. "Nice place you've got here, Quatre". The attempt at casual conversation seemed a bit clumsy even to his own ears, but he plodded on regardless, "I assume I am the last one to arrive? I had a few difficulties with Wing."

Quatre shot Abdul a startled look, then coughed to cover his shock. "Ah, yes, yes you are the last to arrive. Everyone will be happy to see you, though! And it's not mine - it was loaned to me while the owners are away visiting family on L2." It wasn't as if he couldn't afford to just buy it, but it was the property of a business associate and he had attempted to forge stronger business relationships in the past five years.

His Prussian-blue eyes focused on Quatre's face, Heero processed the information, remembering belatedly to attempt a polite nod of acknowledgement of his host's words. "Then everyone has arrived", he stated, matter-of-fact.

Quatre nodded. "Duo and Hilde arrived in the early afternoon soon after Relena showed up with Dorothy Catalonia and what she terms the 'cast of thousands', otherwise known as her guard contingent, which is being lead by Agent Sally Po. This may be a vacation for her, but they still guard her day and night."

He would have said more, but was distracted by the sight of a sleepy Duo walking down the stairs in his T-shirt and boxer shorts, a hand running through his bangs as he yawned hugely. "Man, you know, I was having this really good dream..." Duo was saying, but stopped when he saw Heero standing next to Quatre. He walked down to the bottom to where they were standing, a wry grin crossing his face. "Oi, finally decided to get your ass here. It's about time."

Heero's eyes narrowed dangerously as he gazed at the other former pilot. "What did you use to tell me each time you were late for a Mission? Better late than never?"

Duo waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, yeah, right, excuses. But I guess I can let you off this time." He stepped forward to shake the other young man's hand and fought the urge to give him a hug, especially knowing that it would annoy Heero. Oh, what the hell, annoying Heero had its perks. Duo wrapped an arm around the former Gundam Wing pilot's shoulders. "Damn, it's great to see you, I actually missed you, but don't expect me to kiss you. We'll leave that for Relena."

* * *

Relena, in the meantime, was sleeping away, oblivious to the goings on down below. It was at least a few hours before she stifled a yawn with the back of one hand as she made her way down the stairs and followed her nose towards the dining room. The hem of her white sundress brushed against her legs as she went towards the scent of bacon, what was sure to be eggs, and perhaps even pancakes with real syrup, and the most important part of her day - coffee. Entering the room she looked around, still feeling sleepy and seeing the world blearily. It appeared that she was one of the first ones awake and down here, but that wasn't too surprising, considering her daily schedule and how early she was up in the first place. It was hard to reset one's internal alarm clock and this was just the second day. A slight movement caught her attention - a figure standing next to one window, gazing out at the grounds.

"Good morning," she mumbled as she made a beeline towards the buffet table at one end that held the promised carafe of coffee. Pouring a cup, she added cream and sugar until it was more beige in color than black. She'd acquired a taste for it after the Mariemaia crisis - no more drugged tea for her. Strong, sweet, and guaranteed to wake her up and keep her going for at least a few hours. That accomplished, she turned her attention towards the rest of the spread that was making her head spin.

"Good morning..." a pause, then, a very familiar voice added, in low, clipped tones, "Relena."

Relena paused, eyes widening, all semblance of tiredness gone at the sound of the voice - familiar, yes, and dear, though she'd never say it out loud to anyone, especially... "Heero." She set the cup down and turned to him, a smile crossing her face, eyes brightening in welcome. "You're here." More question than statement, but still holding a hint of wonder in the tone of her voice.

He half-turned away from the large bay window, one hand still pressed against the glass, the bright morning light spread over his features. "The first thing I saw, back on that day, was the sea."

She frowned slightly. "What day was that, Heero?"

He turned back to the scene outside the window, to the lush gardens of the estate that blended into the golden sand, and, beyond, to the deep azure sea. "The day... I fell to earth."

Realization dawned and she smiled again, this time in remembrance, then took a step closer, extending one hand. "Hello. My name is Relena Darlian. What's yours?"

This time he turned around to fully face her, a puzzled look etched on his face. His eyes went from her extended hand to his own hand, back to hers... before he reached out tentatively. "I'm Heero... Heero Yui."

She enveloped his hand with hers, feeling the leashed strength and power in his grip alone. "It's nice to meet you, Heero. Welcome."

"Miss Relena?" a voice called, high and a bit grating, the voice of someone used to being obeyed. "Did you hear that Quatre had a lovely breakfast prepared for..." The words died in her throat as Dorothy flounced in the dining room, her burnt orange sundress swishing around her legs. There, near the window, stood Relena... and near her, a bit taller, perhaps leaner also, his unmistakable scowl pasted on his face, was Heero Yui.

Relena turned, still grasping Heero's hand, towards the door where Dorothy was standing. "Good morning, Dorothy. How did you sleep?"

Heero shrugged off Relena's hand and grunted in Dorothy's direction before heading towards the buffet that had been prepared for them and made quite a show of being utterly absorbed by the task of picking out the kind of bread he would be having from the gargantuan spread in front of him. With a shrug he grasped a slice of something in a nondescript -and non-threatening- shade of beige, and flung it on his plate.

"I had a lovely night's sleep", Dorothy answered, flipping her long blond hair over her shoulder, "but it seems that your friend over there is as ill-mannered as ever!"

Relena had the grace to look shocked at her friend's reaction to seeing Heero, all things considered, but she had learned long ago to never give Dorothy more to work with than what she had already. "Dorothy, that's not very nice of you to say that, especially this early in the morning. I know that you're not a morning person, but this is a vacation and we're all friends here."

Another blond head poked its way into the room. "We _are_ all friends here, Miss Relena." Quatre commented as he came into the room, pausing only slightly at the tableau before him. "How are we all doing this morning?" he inquired, making his way towards the table, and Heero by default, as the atmosphere in the room made him want to present a united front - male bonding at its finest. Solidarity was found in numbers and Heero seemed to be on the verge of doing something disastrous, like strangling Dorothy with her own hair.

Duo trotted down the stairs and into the room, followed by a very tired looking Hilde. A brilliant grin crossed his youthful face as he entered and spied the food. "Oh, yeah! Now this is more like it! Gotta love a buffet spread! Damn, I'm starved." Sex in the morning always made him feel hungry. Then again, sex in general made him hungry too. "Morning everyone!" he announced, grabbing a plate.

Hilde followed behind him and smiled pleasantly. "Hi, good morning."

Studying the buffet, Duo examined the various foods, and decided he'd have some eggs, bacon, hash browns and, oh hell, a little bit of everything, except for the quiche. He didn't do quiche. It was too girly and besides, Hilde loved the stuff.

"Good morning, Duo, Hilde." Relena greeted them both with a smile before turning towards the spread, picking up a plate herself and looking over the options again. She could have sworn she heard Dorothy sniff behind her but refused to acknowledge it. She'd learned more than a few tricks in the political forum in the past few years and ignoring slights by others was one of them. Moving in Duo and Hilde's wake, she felt glad that so much was prepared for the house party. She glanced over at Hilde and muffled a burst of laughter - Hilde was standing behind Duo, waving her arms and opening her mouth in a silent cry, mimicking a movie monster destroying a city. A quick look at Duo's plate confirmed her suspicion - it was piled high with food and looked in danger of toppling over any minute.

Duo lifted a brow, glancing at Hilde. "What?" He balanced his plate, then stuffed two waffles in his mouth so they wouldn't fall off the pile of food. At least he didn't have it over balanced anymore and he'd make it to the table if he moved quickly. He put thought to words, only loosing a few hash-browned potatoes when he sat down. He bit into the waffles for good measure before placing one of them back on the plate and cutting it up, the other he stuffed in its entirety into his mouth. _Stuff was damned tasty._ But he'd need syrup, so that meant he needed to make his way back to the buffet and, after a moment of looking, he grabbed a coffee cup, filled it with syrup, and dumped it over his plate. Yum. "Hey babe, you should try the waffles!"

Hilde finished filling her plate as well, and then walked over to sit across from Duo. Looking at his plate, she shook her head in what many assumed was mock-disgust. "Duo, you are a pig of the highest order. Everyone will think that I don't feed you or something." She picked up her fork and started on the slice of quiche on her plate.

Jabbing his food with a fork, Duo speared some waffle, potato, ham, bits of sausage and smeared it in both an egg, sunny side up, and some of the syrup. "Yup, and proud of it." He looked over toward Relena and watched her for a minute before speaking again. "So, Relena, did Yui profess his undying affection for you yet? Or is he still being the same cold bastard we all know and love?" He grinned over at Heero.

Relena sat down at the place where she'd placed her coffee cup, glancing at the others. "Duo, that is not anything a lady would dignify with a reply. I just now found out that Heero was here and am happy to see him."

Duo frowned, glancing at Heero again. Maybe the guy was slow in listening to his heart. He sighed. "Yeah, kind of figured." He glanced at Hilde then turned away to his plate again. He was one to speak. _ After all that sex he never even bothered asking her to get married. Well, nothing like the pot calling the kettle black._ He got up to grab a cup of coffee. _ Damn, it was there again, the married monster rearing its ugly head_.

Quatre looked down the table at his guests, smiling and trying to break the tension. "So, what does everyone feel up to doing? Trowa, what about you?" The tall man merely shrugged his attention on the buffet before him. Quatre fought the urge to laugh. "Anyone?"

"We could always have sex, I hear large orgies and chick swapping is great at a party." Duo joked. _No way, not unless it was just him and all the chicks._ _Quatre was almost a chick, sort of, with all that touchy-feely empathy, but nothing matched the real McCoy._ "Seriously, though, we've got the sun, the sand..." _Bikinis and half-naked women.... Yeah, the beach, he could look and not touch, but he'd still look.... Man, was it getting hot in there?_ Duo smirked. "How about swimming?"

"Swimming is fine, especially now that everyone is here. I'm sure that Trowa and Heero would like the chance to enjoy the beach as much as we did yesterday. Does that sound good to you two?" Relena picked up the conversation thread, looking down the table at the two dark-haired men.

Heero, sitting next to Trowa in companionable silence, was utterly absorbed in spreading a thin and even layer of butter on his two slices of bread. He shrugged in answer before neatly cutting the slices in two triangles and taking a sip of his black coffee. Trowa turned towards Relena. "We're not difficult to please, it's up to you."

"Exactly!", burst out Dorothy, always eager to add her opinion to every conversation, no matter how trite. "I think that Miss Relena should choose and the boys should follow. It's the natural order of things, isn't it? Be gentlemen, and let us _ladies_ plan the activities."

Relena found herself at a loss for words at Dorothy's statement and that she should plan the rest of the day. "I, yes, well, that sounds fine. Swimming at the beach, perhaps games of volleyball or something like that. How does that sound?"

_Volleyball..._

Duo gave a sly smirk. Yes, he could see it now._ Bouncy women in bikinis, jumping, laughing...Oh, the fantasies. Oh, the breasts._ He shook his head. _Time to get his brain out of his glands; really, he'd never play right._ "I'm all for volleyball."

Dorothy clapped her hands in delight, "What a lovely opportunity for us to wear the bathing suits we bought when you went to that big Forum for Peace in Europe!"

"I know how to play volleyball", cut in Heero before refilling his cup. He waved away Trowa's unspoken offer of sugar and took a sip.

Quatre looked up at that interjection then smiled. "That sounds like fun, Relena. I'm sure that we can all appreciate the chance to work off this breakfast."

Relena only smiled in return, glancing over at Heero. "You know how to play, Heero?" She winced inwardly at her own words - she had never sounded so inane. Of course Heero would know how to play volleyball. She had yet to see him fail at anything that involved physical activity.

"I had to infiltrate multiple educational facilities for my Missions on Earth", he explained in his usual monotone. "It's customary for students to attend physical education classes and you attract more attention when you fumble. Which is why it was impossible to lie low with Duo around."

There was a noise near the end of the table and everyone turned to see Hilde turning red, tears streaming down her face as she struggled to both swallow juice and laugh at the same time. Quatre stood, alarmed at the color she was turning, starting towards her. "Hilde!"

Coming to his feet, Duo put a hand on Hilde's shoulder, not sure what was happening, checking to see if she was breathing. "Hey, babe? You okay?" He rubbed her back and handed her a napkin, feeling a little helpless. He went to slap her back when he got no response and was about to do the Heimlich when she started to cough. "Okay, you're forbidden to make jokes, Yui, you nearly killed my chick." Duo said, feeling relieved. He leaned over to kiss Hilde on the cheek. "Will you be okay?"

Hilde nodded, color returning to normal and she tried to speak, sounding as if she were still gasping. "Fine".

Worried, Duo sat down, hand on hers. "Hey, if you need to go back to the room while I wait on you hand and foot, I'm okay with that." He went to hand her a glass of water. "You don't sound okay... I could give you a back rub and all..."

"I'll be fine, Duo." She smiled slightly and looked around the table. Quatre nodded, returning to his seat. "I'm sorry, but Heero's comment took me off guard."

"Well, yeah, I noticed." Duo glanced at Heero. "Hey, fumbling is human, people notice more when you master everything with mechanical precision, like you do. Sometimes people suspect less when you're open to them." He looked around the room and his smile grew. "Besides, if I hadn't made an effort, I don't think we'd all be here today, would we?"

"I believe I have always been quite inconspicuous, Duo. I've been trained to adapt to many situations", shot back Heero, completely straight-faced, while Dorothy could barely stifle her laughter in the background. Throwing an irritated look her way, he turned his attention back to the remains of his breakfast.

Relena shook her head, sipping at her coffee a moment before setting it down and looking at the others. "So, volleyball sounds good?"

"Hmf", half-grunted Heero.

"As long as we wear our swimsuits." Duo said. "No T-shirts allowed...."

Quatre nodded, agreeing with Duo's comment. "It's a perfect time to do so right now. Not too hot nor cool and, besides, we'll be exercising."

Dorothy clapped her hands in delight: "Miss Relena and I will go put on our new bikinis! Come, Miss Relena, don't eat too much or you won't be able to swim!"

* * *

"Miss Relena! Miss Relena! You forgot your towel!" Dorothy ran behind the chestnut-haired girl thirty minutes later, a towel on each arm, almost stumbling in her high heel designer sandals. She caught herself, laughing, and rearranged the towels, wiggling a bit to set her sarong to rights, and maybe, just a bit, show off her figure at the same time.

Relena turned, taking one of the towels from her friend, smiling. "Thank you, Dorothy. I don't know where my head was just now. This will be fun, right? I mean, I'm not forcing anyone to do something they don't like to do?"

"Of course it will be fun, Miss Relena, everyone likes the beach! Everyone!" She quirked an eyebrow before amending her opinion. "Well, perhaps almost everyone?" A few steps behind, Heero Yui was following, his brow furrowed, his hands plunged deep into the pockets of his jeans. He had stopped along the way, grumbling under his breath, and had rolled up his pant legs over his ankles. Paired with his airy, short-sleeved white shirt, he almost looked like he was on vacation.

Relena glanced back at Heero, still smiling. "Heero, it's good to see you relaxed and enjoying yourself." She felt almost naked compared to the young man, wearing the bikini that Dorothy had insisted on her putting on. Really, she might as well be wearing her underwear, just not as lacy. Heero nodded slightly and caught up with her, matching her stride as they made their way towards the myriad of brightly colored towels Duo had already set up near the water.

The sand was nice and warm and Hilde was wearing that nice shiny blue bikini he got for her when they went shopping the other day. _Yeah, nothing better than three triangles, and, well, she refused the thong, but still the string bikini was damned sexy on her._ He couldn't take his eyes off her silky skin and curves. The hat was nice, too, he thought, a wide-brimmed sun hat that brought out her cornflower eyes and added that oh-so feminine touch. As he walked he pulled his thoughts away from Hilde and on to the beach. It was nice. He liked the breeze and the feel of sand between his toes. It was definitely different from living on a spinning can in space. He glanced back at Hilde who was wading in the water, holding her hat on her head and smiling at him. _Damn, she made the beach look good._

Noticing Heero, Relena and Dorothy the young man waved to them. "Hey, it's about time!" He was on the waters' edge and still trying to decide if he should go in. He wasn't sure it was a good idea, given they'd be playing volleyball, which mean he'd get all sandy if he got too wet.

"Duo, Hilde." Relena nodded to the couple, tilting her head back to look at the sky for a moment. Turning at a sound, she looked back to see Trowa, Quatre and Sally coming down the path as well. "It looks like we're all here."

It didn't take long to find a ball. Duo bounced the volley ball from knee to knee. "So we need to divide into teams. How about chicks against guys? Or, we could do a couples thing too." He winced and glanced at Sally. "Sorry Sally, Wu's not here, I didn't think."

"It's all right," the older woman replied with a smile. "I'm quite capable of acting without him."

Well, at least Sally seemed together on the Wu-man not being there. Good thing too. If she wasn't he would have to talk to the guy about failing to notice the amazing woman he was dating. "Well, no couples, let's just pick teams. I say, since it's only gentleman-like to let the ladies fight out which one of them wants to be a team captain." _Best part about it was they had lots of mud too if it got ugly._ Mud wrestling and babes went hand in hand with his fantasies.

"I think," Hilde ventured. "It might be best to have Sally and Dorothy be the team captains."

"As long as I'm not in the same team as Maxwell", grumbled Heero, his hands plunged deep in his pockets as he threw a dark look towards his friend. "I learned my lesson after playing basketball with him. Never again."

"I think Miss Relena should be a team captain", chimed in Dorothy, adjusting her large-brimmed hat.

Relena turned to give Dorothy a brief glare. "Really? I thought that you would enjoy being the leader." She smiled at her friend, reaching up to adjust her hat in response.

"You know I would rather see you lead, Miss Relena", Dorothy gushed in her high pitched voice, "The sidelines is where I like to be while you shine on!"

"I'd rather not play with Catalonia either", Heero cut in, deadpan.

Relena sighed, chalking it up as a fruitless endeavor. "Fine, fine. I'll be captain. Now, who else wants to be captain?"

Duo sighed, there went a good fantasy. Must be a chick thing to be all reasonable about this stuff. Pity, Sally covered in mud would have been a great sight and, of course, there was always that threat of losing bikini tops and seeing the ever popular boobs. Duo waved a dismissing hand at Heero's comment. "You don't need to worry, I'm not a masochist, Yui, and you can be on a side all by your lonesome. I'll take the ladies any day."

He caught a glare from Hilde and quickly said. "All for women's rights, babe, that's all."

Heero shrugged. "Take Catalonia and Po. Quatre, you're with me. Trowa, too. And we'll pick Relena as our fourth. She can be our handicap. I mean, if I play on my own, if just wouldn't be fair to you, Maxwell, you wouldn't get to touch the ball."

Dorothy's hands shot up in the universal gesture of surrender, "Oh, no, count me out. I'm here to work up a _tan_, not a sweat! Why don't you take one of the Maganacs instead? I'll count the points and keep you honest."

"Too many distractions I think." Hilde gently teased.

Duo just smirked. "Its not winning the game, it's enjoying the company while you play it. But it sounds all fair to me. Didn't know you were one of the ladies, though, Heero. I thought they were picking the teams. But that's cool. You can be a lady and pick the teams, I have no problems with gender confusion, as long as you know, I have a completely heterosexual soul."

"Laugh it up while you can, Maxwell..."

Hilde shook her head, glancing at Trowa and Quatre. The former looked the same as always, inscrutable, and Quatre had the grace to look mortified at the sight of Duo putting his foot so spectacularly into his mouth: "Duo, planning on eating upper thigh soon, or do we want to stop at the knee?"

Relena looked at the assembled group of friends and frowned. "That makes the teams uneven if Dorothy is keeping a score and trying to tan."

A hand rose from one and everyone turned to see Trowa lower his arm, smiling slightly. "In the interest of keeping the teams balanced and to keep the duchess honest, I'll keep score as well."

"Let's get this started." Duo said and glanced at Sally and Hilde.

Hilde smiled innocently to Duo and said sweetly. "Dear, you take the front so you won't get distracted by Sally."

Obedient, Duo took the front and watched Hilde take her post beside him. Sally took up the rear.

Heero kicked off his shoes, and rolled the legs of jeans further up. "Relena, Quatre, you cover the back. I'll take the net." Both nodded, Relena moving to the left and Quatre taking the right side, Heero taking the front and middle.

"Ok, well now that that's settled, let's get this game started. Cause ready or not, here it comes!" Duo tossed the ball up, gave it a good whack and sent it spinning over the net toward the back.

"Oh!" Relena saw it coming her way and first had to quickly remember that this was regular volleyball, not the stuff she learned a long time ago in school. She had to _hit_ the ball, not catch it. She crouched, bracing herself and when the white ball was in range, clasped her hands together and hit it back up into the air. "I got it!" To say she was amazed was an understatement.

Heero followed the ball with his eyes, his knees bent low, and as it lobbed over him, he jumped, aiming carefully, spiking it... right at Duo's head.

_Well, that hurt._ If he hadn't been so keen on watching Relena, he would have noticed Heero's shot. It bounced off the side of his head and on to the ground. Duo blinked, staring at his friend blankly for a moment. "That's a foul ball!" He shouted, pointing at the ball. He then glared at Heero. "You at least owe me an apology..."

"I don't know why you're so upset, dear." Hilde replied. "It's not a vital spot and it is our point, isn't it?" She looked questioningly at Relena. "Or do we get the ball again?"

Duo pouted. "A sorry would be nice."

"I'm sorry, Maxwell, I did it on purpose", Heero offered, "And that ball counts for us. It touched you before it bounced outside." He turned towards Dorothy and Trowa: "We all saw it hit Maxwell, didn't we?"

Trowa looked at Dorothy, who seemed too gleeful for the first round of the game, but she only smirked. "It did hit you, Duo, before it hit the ground. Perhaps if you weren't so distracted by the beauty of the place, you would have seen it coming. The ball goes to Heero's team."

He wasn't sure if hitting players was in the rules, and Duo wasn't about to argue. Hilde, on the other hand, folded her arms. "And since when is it in the rules to hit players?"

"Just is, babe, gotta expect it." Duo told her, with a bit of a smirk. He half expected her to be angrier at him watching Relena. Well, in all honesty, he was just following the ball this time. Nah, she had to be pissy about the point.

"I did not hit him", Heero explained, "The ball did. If he was paying attention, he would have sent it back our way. Or ducked."

"So it's in the rules to hit each other with the ball, fine", Hilde's red face belied her words, she obviously wasn't 'fine' about any of this, "I should know better than to argue with him. I'll just remember that. Next time Duo gets distracted, it's my job to hit him..."

Heero narrowed his eyes at Hilde. "It's not my fault your boyfriend is ogling the bikinis instead of making an effort to play correctly."

"Gentlemen, ladies, the game? I believe Quatre is up to serve?" Relena looked back at the blond host, who smiled and nodded, happy to be out of range of the other two pilots. Then again, they'd had a rivalry for years. That wasn't going to change any time soon.


	4. Chapter 3

**June 6, AC 200 **

**0100 hours EST**

**Seaside manor, Florida Keys, Earth**

Heero rubbed his eyes with one knuckle, trying to drive away the sleep that threatened to overwhelm him. He had gone soft, in the years since the war. The green cursor was blinking on the screen of his laptop, requesting his attention. After all these years, he still could not go anywhere without it. It was almost a security blanket of sorts. He loved to feel its smooth curve in the crook of his arm, or his fingers flying over the keys. The green cursor blinked again and letters started to file across the black screen.

H j d h e 0 4 2 4 [ - e h t l k f g j l y n - l p 4 % 4 2 2 ; p n h _

An encrypted message. He had continued, out of habit, to monitor the frequencies he used when he was still a Gundam Pilot. It was comforting to see the blank screen, to see the green cursor wink at him. It meant there was no need for him. It meant peace. And it seemed that peace was over. Someone was trying to send a message over his frequency.

U n s c r a m b l e Y u i 1_

After a few beeps, the computer fed him back the original message. They had not even bothered to change the key since the war. A three-year-old encryption key had been used. _His_ three year-old encryption key.

C o d e n a m e H e e r o Y u i - M i s s i o n 0 0 1 4 5 6 2 1

A mission. He had thought that the war was over, that his missions were over. No matter how hard he tried to forget his past; concentrating on menial labor in that factory on L1, concentrating on making something of himself, it kept catching up to him.

L o g i n : H e e r o Y u i

P a s s w o r d: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

W e l c o m e, H e e r o Y u i .

E n t e r i n g S e c u r e C o n n e c t i o n M o d e .

Heero rested both his palms on the edge of his desk and pushed his chair back until his arms were fully extended. Only then did he allow himself to hang his head, staring listlessly at the carpeted floor. He had thought, in those few moments where he allowed himself to think, that this vacation might have been a chance to start over, to start a new life that held only the faintest echoes of who he had been, what he had done before. But he had fooled himself. Heero Yui, the terrorist, was forever a part of him and seemingly never go away. The computer beeped, gaining his attention. He looked up, his eyes as hard and unfeeling as always. Heero Yui, pilot of Gundam 01, was back. He crept to the door and bolted it firmly, then returned to his laptop, fully awake, and read the details of his latest mission.

G o i n g t h r o u g h O Z f i l e s w e d i s c o v e r e d h i n t s o f t h e e x i s t e n c e o f

a s e c r e t c y b e r - o r g a n i c l a b o r a t o r y f o u n d e d b y T s u b a r o v .

I t w a s t o b r i n g u p o n t h e n e x t l e v e l i n M o b i l e D o l l e v o l u t i o n .

C o m p l e t e a u t o n o m o u s i n t e l l i g e n c e t h r o u g h t h e u s e o f o r g a n i c

c o m p u t e r s t o s i m u l a t e b r a i n a c t i v i t y .

T h e l a b o r a t o r y w a s s o s e c r e t t h a t f e w o t h e r s t h a n T s u b a r o v

k n e w o f i t s e x i s t e n c e .

I t h a s b e e n c u t o f f f r o m t h e w o r l d a f t e r t h e w a r .

M e n l o y a l t o T s u b a r o v c o u l d s t i l l b e a l i v e t h e r e .

Y o u r m i s s i o n i s t o s e e k a n d d e s t r o y .

N o t h i n g m u s t e s c a p e t h a t l a b o r a t o r y .

T h e t a r g e t i s l o c a t e d u n d e r w a t e r, a t t h e f o l l o w i n g c o o r d i n a t e s :

24 59.71, 80 22.77, 90

The cursor blinked expectantly, as if it was waiting. Heero mechanically turned to his unpacked suitcase he had set on a chair and rummaged through it, pulling out a familiar tank top and spandex shorts. Old habits died hard. He dressed efficiently, pulling on his running shoes and tightening his laces. He could not do this alone.

M i s s i o n A c k n o w l e d g e d

E n t e r c o n f i r m a t i o n p a s s w o r d : * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

M i s s i o n C o n f i r m e d .

L o g o u t

H e e r o Y u i l o g g e d o u t .

With the finality of a lid going down on a coffin, Heero closed his laptop, stuffed it in its carry-on and strapped it to his back. A few more seconds of rummaging and he slipped a gun in the back waistband of his spandex shorts. No one had to know about this. He opened the window and threw a leg over the sill. He had to get Duo.

* * *

A few rooms away, Duo sat up slowly in the dead of night, listening carefully to the creaking of the floorboards below. _Someone is stepping on my grave.._. It was late and he was lying alone in a cold and empty bed, and Hilde's familiar form was not nestled beside him. _Well, that sucked_, he thought. No, more than that, it blew. They had gone to bed together after a long, heartfelt discussion of where their lives were taking them and, more importantly, if they were taking them in a common direction. Apparently the chick didn't like the results of their little heart to heart. Alone in bed, he felt cold without her. In many ways, they belonged together, but how he wasn't sure. Just that marriage thing was, well, an issue. He wasn't ready, not really, and wanted her to understand that a guy like him, young and crazy, needed to stretch his legs and be wild for a while before settling down.

Yet he kept going back to it._ We like the same things, and she is strong. I admire her strength. I even admire her idealism. But am I ready to settle down with anyone? _Duo stared at the ceiling "Three years of living in sin..." he whispered to himself as he glanced to the empty space beside him. "Three years of wild, unadulterated sex, and I never even told her I wanted to spend my life with her..." _No wonder she was up and about. I most likely put my foot in my mouth, when discussing our future. I didn't mention marriage; I talked about business. I talked about sex. I didn't talk about us. Boy...she must have been pissed. _He felt like the sticky gum on the bottom of a shoe. Life was more complicated than he imagined_. Why couldn't it be like one of those erotic, X-rated porn flicks?_

_Everything is better with Jell-O. _If only that was true.

With a deep breath, Duo hammered down his raging hormones and kicked off the covers. "Because this is my life," he said aloud. _But I love her, right_? _So that would make commitment necessary, right? Right. First comes love, and then comes marriage..._ he shivered. He could fight men in mobile suits and face death in the eye. But responsibility and commitment were distant dreams he kept shoving aside as he got older. _Who needs them, right? Hilde, that's who. It was time to bite the bullet._ Duo swallowed, and then began to make his way out of the room.

* * *

Heero cursed under his breath as his left foot slipped against the smooth sandstone of the mansion's outer walls. If he had gone a little faster, he would have been plummeting to the ground right now. Somehow, that made him wince, all the while knowing he had fallen from much greater heights during the war. He felt his fingers dig in the space between two bricks and held on tighter.

_Soft, soft, soft. I'm going soft_.

He slowly shifted his weight, sweat pouring from his clenched fingers, and let his foot glide against the wall in search of a foothold. There. Heero relaxed for an instant, then reached out with the tip of his right sneaker and felt it. The windowsill that led to Duo's room: and it was open. This was too easy. He could just slip in the room, shake Duo into wakefulness, and promptly leave the way he came in. No one would have to know. Heero crouched like a cat on the windowsill, listening for sounds of breathing. Nothing. Complete, eerie, unnatural silence. Swinging one leg over the edge Heero crept in the room, pausing. No Duo or Hilde in the bed or anywhere else that he could see.

_K'so. Just like Duo to be out and about in the middle of the night_.

Grumbling, he opened the door and peered into the hallway. Everything was dark, except a line of warm yellow light around the kitchen door downstairs, barely visible from this angle. _A midnight snacker. I should have known_. Slowly, with the cat-like ease of someone used to secret missions and middle-of-the-night assassinations, Heero made his way downstairs. Duo was definitely the best choice for this endeavor; while he grudgingly admitted to himself that the others were good men to have on your side in mobile suit fights, Duo had a definite edge over them: he was quick on his feet, trained in hand-to-hand combat and, more importantly, not overly bright. He was noisy and would ask a million questions but, when it counted, he would blindly follow him.

* * *

Down in the kitchen, Trowa turned off the stove and poured himself a cup of coffee. _There's nothing like a good cup of coffee in the middle of the night to either wake up or knock one's self asleep_. He figured that everyone else must be in their beds by now, except himself of course, as he had never slept much and it only got worse after the war had ended. He took the coffee mug and sat down by the table, leaving the remaining pot of coffee on the stove to keep it warm for other nighttime wanderers. With every one's internal clocks off, he figured that he wouldn't be the only one finding themselves wandering around the house. He had already espied at least one Maganac before the other man had nodded in his direction before disappearing. It reminded him of the years before the war, when he had been a wanderer. _Funny thing, I learned how to make good coffee while I was growing up with the mercenaries. Some of those men really knew how to cook. I can still remember how surprised Catherine was when she ate my food for the first time,_ he mused to himself, taking a sip.

He looked up when he saw Hilde coming in the kitchen. He nodded at her in silent acknowledgement and gestured towards the coffee. She muttered a word of thanks and helped herself to a cup, stirring in sugar and then rummaging in the refrigerator for milk, pouring that in as well. As far as he could remember Duo and Hilde had been together, since the first time he saw them at the circus, and they'd been inseparable after the war and for the past few years. Everyone could see that Hilde was in love with Duo and it didn't take much for anyone to see that Duo loved Hilde as well.

Unfortunately, the ones involved were often the ones who were the blindest, which was a shame. He was content with his life; it didn't take much to please him. As long as he had a direction to follow it was fine with him. He had never been with anyone and knew he wouldn't need anyone in the future. Despite Catherine's urging, he was happy with helping out at the circus in his spare time and making sure his sister was all right. He took another sip of his coffee, lost in thought, when Duo entered the kitchen. Glancing between the two of them, it didn't take a genius to sense the sudden tension in the room and he decided that discretion was the better part of valor. Standing up, he walked over to the kitchen sink in order to wash his mug, then bid them a goodnight and exited the room.

Great, she was there, and it was a good thing Trowa rabbited - guy knew when domestic trouble was brewing. Duo placed the cup back on the shelf, and shifted nervously. _Jesus, why the hell couldn't he keep his cool about this? _When it came to women, he was always charming. When it came to talking to Hilde about important things, he felt fidgety and nervous.

_The coffee was gone_. Damn, that didn't help at all. Duo stared blankly at the pot, recalling how wonderfully delicious Trowa's brew really was. _Figures-my dumb luck was trying to tell me something. Like I was an asshole._ He stared at Hilde, and then forced a faint smile. "Ah, babe, we're outta coffee..." he said nervously, trying to lighten the moment. He thought of mentioning the idea of dragging Trowa in to make more. _That's right, Trowa, we're gonna chain your ass-less body to the coffee maker and force you to brew for the rest of your life! _His own coffee tasted like battery acid. No worse than that, yak piss mixed into battery acid, and he didn't want to punish himself that much. Okay, maybe he'd prefer it if Hilde got the old whip, leather, and the fuzzy handcuffs out; now, that was his idea of punishment. Okay, so he was losing it… women; they always did this to him.

Hilde looked at Duo, a mixture of hurt and impatience etched across her features and folded her arms, pale skin milky in the glow of the kitchen lights. She waited. Watched. One of her eyebrows shot up. Duo only scratched his head, looked at her, then the floor, then up at her again, before starting to pace back and forth, finally settling on circling the cooking island in the middle of the kitchen.

Hilde sighed, more than a little frustrated by the entire evening and the fight and now this. She couldn't even get away from him for a few minutes without him finding her. Maybe coming to the kitchen hadn't been the greatest idea in the world, but she'd seen the kitchen light on and knew she wasn't the only night owl. But now Duo had found her - he was part bloodhound. She stood, gulping down the rest of the contents of her mug. "What do you want, Duo?" Standing and facing him was better than earlier, when he had stood and talked while she sat and watched.

He lifted a hand and waved it uneasily. "Okay, look, no more small talk, I'm good with that. About our talk earlier...I'm not doing this very well." He gave a heavy sigh and slumped in a chair. Damn, this was too hard without coffee. How could he say it without looking like a pussy? Wait, no, okay, he liked pussies. He looked like a wimp. "Hilde, I'm scared. Life, love, all that scares the shit out of me and every instinct I have is saying run away, as fast as I can, because this is too intense, that you're just gonna die on me like everyone else..."

That was it, way to go, he got it out. Duo slumped his shoulders and looked at his hands. They trembled and rocked the coffee cup on the table so that it rattled. Unconsciously he grasped his fingers and held them so she'd not notice. "I want you to marry me...I just don't know how to ask."

Did he say that? Fuck, no, he couldn't have said that....

Married.

Now he was sure of it, Hilde made him utterly mad. The God of Death settling down; now that was a pisser. And he'd said it. Duo bowed his head. "So, okay, that's it, babe. The rest is up to you."

Hilde stared at him for a long moment, mouth opening in surprise, making her look like a landed fish. To say that she was shocked was the understatement of the year, century, millennium - Duo was asking her to marry him? She felt the urge to look around and try to find the cameras that were surely documenting her reaction and any moment now people would be jumping out and yelling 'Surprise!'

"Marry you? Duo, are you feeling okay?" She moved forward, raising a hand to feel his skin.

The former Deathscythe pilot batted her hand away. "Married. Yuppers, sounds about right. And I'm fine, more than fine; I just need a cup of coffee because my brain needs to catch up with my mouth. But...I mean, I meant what I said... I wouldn't have said it otherwise."

Now Hilde did look around, but only saw the kitchen and no cameras, no people hiding in the pantry or under the cabinets. Looking back at Duo she smiled tremulously then nodded, biting her lower lip to stem the tears she felt welling up. "Yes. Yes!"

"All right, okay, this works." Duo said, coming to his feet. He gently took Hilde in his arms to embrace her, kissing her brow. "We'll make it work, babe."

Out in the hallway Heero stopped short a few steps from the entrance to the kitchen. Duo would kill him if he interrupted them now. But then, Duo might not come with him if he did not. At least, to kill him, Duo would have to follow him first. That settled the problem. Heero pushed the door wide open and stepped in. "Duo, we have to talk"

Duo frowned, turning from Hilde's surprised features to Heero's brooding presence as he entered the room. Dressed in his green tank top, shouldering a backpack, with a gun tucked into his waistband, he didn't appear as if he were just meandering around the house in search of a cup of coffee. Duo winced, realizing he meant business. And at a time like this… Lord, many a day he'd dreamed of his marriage proposal, dressed in a tux, Hilde in a gown sporting a rock the size of a small super ball, with a bright-eyed smile on her face. It was a dream of course, since he always avoided his heart and responsibilities. But he at least wanted to do the 'I was engaged' lay. Damn, Heero was hell on his love life. "You have the damnedest timing, Yui," he grunted, chugging the coffee down. "What is it, and can it wait? Hilde and I are having a discussion. More than a discussion, we're getting married and, well, you know, this sort of thing is, well, supposed to be private."

Across from him, Hilde nodded vigorously, but Heero was not intimidated. "Duo. We need to talk. Now. Alone."

Hilde took a deep breath and folded her arms. "No way, Yui, we're a team. You talk to him, you talk to me too!" Duo's eyes widened and he waved his hands at Hilde. "Hey, whoa, babe! Ah, let me see what's going on first!"

"Married, Duo, means together." She glared at Heero. "And I can act as backup for Duo; it won't hurt anything and I won't breathe a word of this to anyone. Hell, I took him in, didn't I? So I know how to hide things."

"Look, whatever he wants is important, I know it, but it's not more important than us. But you have to trust me okay?" Duo held her hands and hoped she'd understand. "I'm glad you want in, I really am. But someone has to stay here and, well, wait for me to call if I get into trouble, right?" He side glanced Heero.

Heero's eyebrows knitted for an instant before smoothing out in a schooled, blank expression. "Exactly. Give us 48 hours before raising the alarm. Now leave."

Hilde sighed. "Okay", and kissed Duo's cheek before she left. "Don't get killed or I'll personally hunt both of you down in hell and give you a piece of my mind."

"Sure babe." Duo winked and returned the kiss, then watched her go. With one last glance to Hilde he nodded to his old war buddy. "Okay, guess I have no real life of my own, so what the hey, you got my attention, Heero. And I'd heed what she said, she'll give both of us hell if I get hurt or killed."

"I got a message today. Encrypted. With a three year old key. Yui1. My encryption key. It was a mission, Duo. I need your help." Heero rummaged in his pack and took out a black gun he set on the table in front of Duo. "You're the only one who can keep up with me. I can't do this alone."

With a lingering glance to where Hilde had stood, Duo sighed then nodded, taking in his words. "I had a gut feeling you were going to pull one on little old me. Okay, what do you need me to do?" He reached out for the gun, feeling the cool metal between his fingers. "Dammit, Heero", he grumbled under his breath, "I can't believe I missed this."

"Our mission is to seek and destroy. Classified." Heero reached behind him and whipped out his gun, leveling it between Duo's eyes. "We have to leave - now. I will explain as we go along. If we take too long, the others might catch on. I won't have Quatre or anyone else slowing us down."

Wincing at the gun, Duo lifted a hand to its barrel and nudged it away from his face. "Hey, man, chill. I said I'd go. The last thing I want to do is to spoil your fun." He couldn't help but sound cross. Mr. Yui just nearly cost him his future. _Okay, I had to calm the anger some, but it would take time._ _You know, what Heero really needed was to get laid. _He tried to repress a smirk, then strolled to the kitchen door. "Slow us down, eh? I think you underestimate him. Blondie is quite skilled actually. Very formidable with a sword."

Heero leveled his gun at Duo again. "Duo, this time I will shoot. We are leaving now. Quatre is soft. He was not trained to kill men. There is a difference between going after Mobile Suits and going after living beings. There is a difference between fencing for sport and fencing to kill. You and I, we know what it means to kill. Leave him be. We must go."

Duo shrugged. "Okay, okay, you're making me nervous with that thing. Let's go." With that, he walked quietly out the door and into the night. Heero followed close behind, slowing down only long enough to drop something that looked like a folded piece of paper on the kitchen table. He was tenser than usual and his insistence bothered Duo on some level. _What was driving him to drag me along at gunpoint?_ Duo gave a sigh; he'd tell him in his own time. All Duo needed to do was bend over_. Yeah, right, Mr. Lemming Maxwell, off to get his ass shot off once more, courtesy of Heero Yui. _

Heero grabbed Duo's arm and pulled him sharply to the right. "Duo...we're going _that_ way. And I hope you can swim." He finally let go of Duo's arm, stopping on the beach close to a wooden shed. He took out his laptop, put it down on one of the uneven steps that led up to the slightly elevated shed, and opened the lid. The eerie greenish glow of the LCD lit up his features. His face intent, he punched in the codes necessary to log in, his fingers flying over the keyboard at extraordinary speed. "Duo, monitor my frequency. I hope you remember how to use a UNIX shell. No fancy GUI here. Tell me if anything is amiss."

Duo heaved a careful breath, then nodded, understanding what Heero wanted of him. "Okay, on one condition. What's going on, why is this so important, and why the hell was it so urgent that you had to drag me here without my tools or bombs and in my underwear?"

Heero put aside the laptop, ignoring Duo's question. In an instant he was at the closed shed door, with a heavy steel padlock caught in a loop of the same metal, effectively closing the door shut. He grunted. "Door's closed." Grasping the padlock firmly, he pulled, the muscles in his arm rippling. With a wrench of broken metal he tore the metal loop off the door and pushed it open.

Duo blinked at his display of strength then frowned. Sometimes he was sure there was nothing human about Heero Yui and it made him wonder. After all, the guy was a bona fide Superman. Thinking of Superman made him think of Hilde. She liked the old vintage films he dug up; in fact, she liked them so much she squealed every time the dude came out in his jammies to save the world. Duo smirked slightly at the thought of Heero in superhero jammies. Then again, he probably already wore superhero jammies. Duo was dressed in that lemming suit and prepping himself to leap off the proverbial cliff with him... and Duo didn't know how to fly!

_Can you say crash and burn, baby? _

Duo nudged the twisted metal in the sand then smirked up at him. "Hm, you made good work of that. Something you want to talk about?" Heero made no move to respond. Exasperated, Duo shook his head, hands digging into his hair. "Argh! Yui! I want answers. I'm not god damned budging until you tell me what's going on! God damn it!"

"Something very dangerous is in that base, Duo." Heero rummaged through the shed and came out his arms full of something dark. He dropped one on the sand next to Duo, then slipped into the other, a black wetsuit. He zipped it up halfway and tied the arms around his waist. "Put yours on. I'll bring the oxygen tanks and help you shoulder yours. I hope you know how to use one of those."

Duo looked at the wet suit and frowned. He had only used one once, almost six years ago in training. Most of his salvage operations in the water were in Deathscythe. But then again, training always came back when under fire. "Sure I can, and if you piss in one, it will keep you at a nice cozy ninety-eight degrees for quite a while." Quickly Duo began to slip into the suit, recalling his buoyancy problem. "You better give me at least a sixty pound weight belt."

"There must be one in there. Go look." Heero came out of the shed once more and meticulously checked the oxygen tanks he had put down next to Duo. Any defect would mean a certain death, which would in turn mean a failed mission...and a failed mission...he did not even want to let his mind wander that way. It led only to regrets. "We'll take a boat to bring us to the coordinates. Then we will need to dive to the base entrance."

Duo exhaled, nodding. "Whatever you say," then, without a word, went into the shed and rummaged around for more weights for his dive belt. He didn't have the guts to tell Heero diving bothered him. The very thought of diving blind in the dark in a living sea made his skin crawl. The ocean was filled with things designed with poisons, teeth and tentacles. Things he'd like to know if they were coming at him. Space was different; it wasn't alive like the sea. Sure, you were weightless, but you could see things in space. In the ocean visibility was next to nothing, especially at night, even in these crystal clear waters. Things weren't out to make you a meal in the dark either. He was used to space, nothing scared him there. Sure, it was dangerous, but a hole in a space suit was easily patched and, with the proper training, one could navigate anti-gravity. It didn't matter how fast or slow you went in space. But in the sea...if you ascended too quickly, you were dead. Duo's morbid brain cooked up the image of his bloated corpse floating on the high seas like a fish bait restaurant. _That's right, EAT at DUO'S! He's buoyant! _Quickly putting away his thoughts, Duo located the weights and began to fasten them on the dive belt. He couldn't let Heero see how nervous he was. He'd never tolerate that. He licked his lips, wetting them, and then faced Heero with a shit-eating grin. "So, how deep is this dive?"

Heero sat down on a step and gathered his laptop on his knees, starting to type furiously. "Not much. Twenty-five to thirty meters. Hurry up. I am leaving a message for Trowa. He should take the others and leave. We don't know the repercussions our destroying it could have."

Duo stepped back, zipping up his wet suit, and glared at him. "Whoa, now wait, we're diving twenty-five to thirty meters? I'm inexperienced and you're saying that we're gonna blow the joint?" He waved his hands up in a mock surrender, trying hard to calm himself. He had to chill. "Okay, no, of course we'd have to blow the joint, but why not have Sally send in a few units and take it out that way? Let the Preventers do it, since that is their business." He heaved a breath. "There has got to be an easier way." Despite his words, Duo finished suiting up and studied his mask and tank for a long moment. He felt like the frogman from hell, especially considering the flippers he'd be wearing soon. _Guess my life would always be a B-grade horror flick._ "Okay, let's get this over with. I'm presuming we're using C4 charges with remote detonators? 'Cause if not, I'm bailing. I don't plan to be swimming on top of that sucker with a timer when it blows."

Heero grunted in answer, trying to sort out his conflicting thoughts. First a strange, fleeting emotion in Duo's eyes, and now this stance so casual it seemed contrived. Heero could not figure out what was going on in his partner's mind. But he felt... guilty. He knew it was something he did that robbed the smile from Duo's violet eyes. "Duo...do you want me to help you with your oxygen tank?" _I'm sorry, Duo. But this is a mission. There is no place for feelings such as that. Feelings make you weak and I need to be strong. _

Duo shook his head, seeing Heero size him up once more like he was a bug under a microscope. Good old Heero, he could away depend on him to let things drop like a stone. After all, he was scared shitless and knew Heero saw it. He dropped to the ground, slipping his arms though the shoulder straps of the tank. It was roughly sixty pounds and rather easy to haul onto his back. Moments later, he was ready. "No use me whining about this. Uh, one thing for sure, though, is whomever is giving us these orders better be paying me a pretty damn penny."

Stony blue eyes stared at his and wordlessly looked him over, checking if he was properly equipped. Silently, Heero turned away and left his laptop in the shed, under a box of fish tackle, stored in its waterproof lining, then zipped up his wetsuit and shrugged his oxygen tank on his back. He put his mask over his face then pushed it up on his forehead, in a manner very reminiscent of Quatre's goggles. "The boat is out back. We should go now."


	5. Chapter 4

**June 6, AC 200 **

**0045 hours EST**

**Seaside manor, Florida Keys, Earth**

Relena sat at the window that faced the beach, gazing out at the darkened landscape that was lit with the silvery glow of the nearly full moon that was nearing its zenith above. She was, sadly, still on Luxembourg time, and it usually took her three days to adjust, which meant her body believed it was six o'clock in the morning. That was usually the time she was waking up to face a day full of thrilling meetings, dull office work or lively luncheons with fellow politician's, or the rare friend who happened to be in the area, which was not a often as she would like, obviously. Even with the activities of the day wearing her out physically, she was still feeling wide awake mentally, which was always the worst of the two in her opinion. She stifled a yawn with the back of her left hand then rubbed at her eyes. _Wide awake, mind racing, and the body wanting nothing more than rest...yes, I angered someone in a past life._

Looking out again, she caught a glimmer of moonlight on the water in the distance, beckoning to her. A slow smile crossed her face as an errant thought crossed her mind. Maybe that was what she needed - some physical activity by herself, and a chance to unwind without any added pressures on her.

Checking the door to make sure that it was locked, she looked around her room, taking stock of what she needed. Relena opened one of the dresser drawers, sifting through the crisply folded garments in hopes of locating a pair of shorts and her extra swimsuit. Ah, there they were... a pair of khaki shorts and a modest one-piece, unlike the skimpy bikini Dorothy had insisted she wear. She changed quickly, wiggling her toes into her favorite sandals, and grabbed her towel on the way out. Her hand on the door knob, she surveyed her handiwork: she decided that the pillows made a very convincing lump in the bed, and should fool anyone who decided to give a cursory peek into her room.

Now on to the method of her escape from the sleeping mansion to the delights of the ocean at night. She remembered the ivy trellis outside her window, but vetoed that when she was assaulted by visions of the decorative wooden structure collapsing in many different ways, all of which ended with her falling backwards to injury or worse, and that certainly wasn't how she wanted to spend her vacation! And somehow the paparazzi would get wind of it if she had to be taken off the island they were on...oh, they'd have a field day with the headlines alone! This would just not do. Sighing in frustration, she settled on the more prosaic avenue of the hallway.

Cracking the door open, she examined the hallway, noting the faint noises downstairs- she couldn't go down that way and risk getting waylaid by a concerned friend who would surely ask questions as to where she was going at this time of night. Glancing back down the other direction, she bit her lower lip for a few seconds then nodded to herself, decision made. Slipping out of the doorway, she shut the door softly behind her before creeping towards the service stairwell. She had to concentrate on being stealthy: she needed to pass Dorothy's room and, if the duchess caught her, she'd never hear the end of it. She could hear her voice ringing in her head: how unseemly it was for one such as her to skulk in a dark hallway in the middle of the night, how embarrassing it would be to be caught red-handed as she tried to avoid her own friends or even the random Preventers agent that was surely roaming around checking the perimeter. A few more steps and she was at the back staircase; since it wasn't used by the guests, the odds of being discovered were low and it would work for her purposes. Cringing at one creaking step, she was able to make her way to the ground floor and the main foyer. Peering around the corner she waited for a few seconds then opened the front door and finally exited the mansion.

She took a deep breath then tip toed her way around the house. On the far side, she sneaked beneath an open window and paused when a shadow darkened it momentarily, hoping that whoever it was wouldn't notice her. When no one's voice called out, she decided she was in the clear! And, a few steps further, she finally found the path leading to the beach. She was in the home stretch! Through her elation, though, she felt a slight pang of worry: someone might find out she was gone, wonder where she was, or, even worse, come to the conclusion that she had been harmed... she shook her head. This was ridiculous. No one would know that she was gone and she was probably safer here than she was in Luxembourg, where everyone knew her.

Two days ago, after her arrival at the mansion, she had come across a small cove during a walk with Quatre. They had both marveled at the clear waters, secluded from the rest of the ocean, their own private little stretch of sea. It was now her destination as she retraced their steps in the dark. If she was right, no one would think to look for her there, or, at least, not at first.

She felt lighter with every step towards her hidden objective. It was giddy, downright exhilarating, to head out alone for a midnight swim... to do something, well, something the adults around her would consider childish and naughty. She smiled, feeling devilish for a moment. Maybe someone would discover she was missing and send the entire house into an uproar in trying to find her? Would they think that she had gone looking for Heero's room? Maybe she was paranoid but it seemed that everyone had kept glancing between her and Heero all day long, their eyes full of questions they never voiced.

But what answers could she give them had they asked? She hadn't seen or heard from Heero in over three years, not since the attempted coup by Mariemeia, and even then there had been no words exchanged between them. He had come for her, he had collapsed in her arms, and the next day he was gone. She had to admit to herself that she often thought about him, but only in a passing fashion, a brief second of respite before the pressures of her job, her life, intruded once more. At times she envied her younger self who had stopped battles on her own, and ruled a country she didn't remember, who had followed a boy halfway around the world... how naive she'd been back then, those short five years ago.

As she crested the rise that led down to the cove she stopped, captivated. The moonlight shimmering on the water was beautiful, brilliant silver on the deep blue, almost black, water; the lush vegetation sheltered the cove from the rest of the beach, dark shapes against the sand just beyond. She'd seen the moon from space more often than she could recall, and it was a striking sight, but nothing when compared to the lambent glow that one could only see planet side. In this era of science, it still had the power to fascinate and tug at her soul. _And they wonder why the ancients worshipped the elements, the sun and the moon. Maybe, in another time, I could have been a priestess._

Relena halted, then twirled on the sand in the moonlight before dropping her towel as she ran towards the water's edge, kicking off her sandals as she did so. She wiggled out of her khakis, tossing them to the side, before finally dipping a toe into the water. It was colder than she anticipated and she shivered, gritting her teeth for a moment before plunging in, coming up gasping.

"Relena, care if I join you?"

Startled, Relena turned, her cheeks already starting to turn pink from the cool water, to see Sally, dressed in tan slacks over a swimsuit, waving at her cheerfully. She may have been able to slip away from the house unnoticed by her guards, but she should have known better than to dream she could fool Sally. She couldn't help it...Vice Prime-Minister or not, she still felt like a child caught with her hands in the cookie jar. Her shoulders slumped slightly: "The water's a bit chilly but if you're up to it, sure!"

Sally arched her brow at the girl, and then laughed: Relena's crestfallen expression spoke volumes. "You can't keep the sea all to yourself. And you know you shouldn't have left without someone to protect you."

Relena blew a raspberry in Sally's general direction; she realized her disappointment at her friend's arrival was puerile, so why stop at that? Sally took it as an invitation, and quickly stripped down to her bathing suit, laughing as she gave a brief shiver her own self.

"I know you said that the water was chilly, but you neglected to comment on the breeze being as well." Sally gave another shudder, resisting the urge to let her teeth chatter.

"Well, you didn't ask and I didn't really notice. Sure you want to come in?" Laughter was laced through Relena's voice along with the hint of a challenge.

"Are you baiting me?"

"Me?" Relena tread water for a moment, head cocked to one side as she pretended to consider her options. "No, not really...but it was interesting to watch your face."

Sally chuckled, shaking her head. "Funny girl." She mimicked Relena's actions earlier, dipping a toe into the water before taking a deep breath and jumping into the water. She surfaced a moment later, hair slicked back from her face, eyes widening. "Cold!

Relena laughed out loud, and then splashed some water her way. "Serves you right for showing up! See, you could be in a nice warm bed, but no, you had to come out here!"

Sally wrinkled her nose at Relena then struck out, paddling towards her. "Yes, serves me right, but that'll be something I'll just have to live with."

Relena rolled her eyes but nodded. "Fine, fine, you're here."

Sally just grinned, then sobered. "Any particular reason you're out here in the middle of the night, or just a random whim?"

Relena relaxed, leaning back to float on her back. "I couldn't sleep...time difference and all that. You know how it is." Sally nodded and though Relena couldn't see her, she took the silence as assent. "I'm tired physically, but my mind is still racing a million miles a minute."

Sally nodded in reply, then pointed towards a large rock jutting out from the water: "Last one there is a rotten egg!" She followed the declaration by starting to go towards it.

Relena smiled and swiveled in the water, kicking off. The world seemed a brighter place.

* * *

At odds with the fact being it was the middle of the night, light shone through one of the upstairs windows, and in the bedroom recently vacated by a former pilot who happened to think that black was a color for all occasions and a cocky smile would admit him to every venue, a young woman paced, angrily muttering under her breath all sorts of imprecations and what exactly she would do to the absent young man once she got her hands on him, much less the other young man that had ruined what had been a moment of pure happiness.

_Really, the man had no class whatsoever, intruding on what is possibly the second-happiest day of my life! _Hilde paused long enough to bend over and scoop up a pair of shoes and sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling on one of them. She glared at the far wall, imagining it to have dark hair and blue eyes, with a penchant for green tank tops.

She secured one set of laces, imagining it wrapped around Heero's neck, and then reconsidered that plan, recalling everything she had heard about Heero. _Maybe I should ask one of Quatre's Maganac's if I can borrow a weapon from them, or is that considered being a pushy guest?_

Shoelaces tied on both shoes and dark clothing in place, she stood, the same determination that had seen her through escaping from the Libra with the plans settling around her. Nothing short of an act of God was going to stop her and the latest weather report showed clear skies for the next week. Opening the door, she marched downstairs, prepared to beard both of the Gundam pilots in their den, or the kitchen...whatever. She was going to insist on going with them and they wouldn't dare say her nay, especially not Duo. She'd even pull the pouty face, since she knew Duo couldn't resist it.

_That Duo... she..._Hilde came to a halt, staring at the room. The kitchen was empty. No Duo, no Heero, nothing. Not even the remnants of the coffee, just a discarded cup sitting unattended on the kitchen table. Hilde crossed over to the table and picked up the cup, toying with it distractedly. They had left without her and there was no way she could figure out where they went. As she twirled the cup in her hands, she noticed a small piece of paper caught on the bottom. She peeled it off, a circle of coffee staining a corner, then unfolded it, giving it a cursory glance. Was it a discarded grocery list?

She blinked. It definitely wasn't a grocery list. On the contrary, it was short, terse, and seemed incredibly important.

--

_Relena,_

_Leave today. Return to Cinq._

--

The handwriting was scratchy and unfamiliar, but was so regular and precise it could only be Heero's. And there was only one thing she could do: wake Quatre. Taking the steps two by two, she barreled up the stairs to his room, the note crushed in her fist.

"Quatre! Quatre!", she whispered fiercely through the door, hesitating for an instant before knocking as softly as she could so as not to wake anyone else.

After a moment, Quatre's door opened and he stuck his head out into the hallway, looking at her blearily. "Hilde? What's wrong?"

"Heero..Duo...they're gone!"

To Quatre's advantage, he was instantly alert. "What? Why? What's going on?"

Hilde could only shrug. "I can't begin to guess, but Heero looked like he used to five years ago. Duo seemed to pick up that something serious was going on, because he sent me out of the room and a note was left behind for Relena. I think Heero wrote it."

"Relena?" At Hilde's nod, he held out his hand and she deposited the note into his keeping. He scanned it quickly, face darkening at the message inherent in the few words. He closed the door for a moment, emerging in a pair of shorts and the t-shirt he'd been wearing when he answered her summons. "Hilde, stay here. I'll be back shortly, I promise."

Hilde frowned, then nodded, acquiescing. "I'll wait until you get back. Hurry, Quatre...I have a bad feeling about this whole thing."

Quatre tossed a quick smile over his shoulder as he started down the stairs and out the front door. He didn't want to admit it, but he had the same suspicion that Hilde had - call it intuition, call it empathy - but he had the same bad feeling that she did. Something was wrong and he had to intercept Heero and Duo before they wandered into something that even they couldn't handle.

* * *

It wasn't so bad to be the rotten egg after all! Sally had beaten Relena to the rock they had designated as the finish line, true, but much laughter was had. At first she had been certain that she was the one winning, as her friend was nowhere to be found, but as she finally neared the outcropping Sally had surfaced right in front of her, sputtering and gasping, her hands reaching out to snag the victory.

She had smiled smugly, of course, but Relena couldn't shake the feeling that she had cheated somehow. Pushing her wet hair away from her face, she glared at Sally before muttering something about her being a show-off. And she was. There really was no need to pump her fist in the sky like that. But then again, Sally looked so ridiculous, tufts of scraggly wet hair sticking out of her braids, seaweed sliding down one cheek. Relena dissolved in a fit of giggles. "It feels so good to finally have a real vacation, away from all my responsibilities."

"Is it really that stressful?" Sally felt the urge to inquire even if she knew the truth. Then again, there wasn't much that she didn't know about Relena's political life and the pressure inherent with that lifestyle.

Relena grimaced, sighing. "Sometimes I want to walk out in the middle of a meeting. No one wants to agree with anything and it's so frustrating that I want to scream at them."

"Then why don't you? That might make them sit up and notice!"

"I know, but other days, it's so easy to say the right words and they do listen, they do agree. And the future is bright and full of promise..." Relena trailed off, as she turned her eyes to the night sky. There, among all the natural stars, she could discern the distant lights of the colonies as they rotated, nestled in their respective Lagrange points. If she remembered correctly, the one that seemed closest was L1, where she was scheduled to attend a meeting of representatives to discuss opening new trade routes the next month.... but more importantly where...

Sally's voice shook her from her reverie: "What are you staring at all of a sudden?"

She pointed to the sky. "The stars. They are the future - us, the colonies, all working together for a common goal."

"Relena, relax, vacation remember? The sun, frolicking in the water, having water fights with the others? Sound familiar?"

Relena mumbled something under her breath that Sally couldn't hear clearly, then grinned, "You're right, only two days and I'm already worried about work."

"I noticed. Heck, even I left my gun in my room. Take a page from that book and then you should be able to enjoy yourself a bit more!" With that, Sally winked at her, before pinching her nose closed, letting go of the rock and dropping under the surface.

Relena blinked at the suddenness of her action, peering at the dark water. "Sally? Sally! Where are you? Sally!"

Suddenly, two hands seized her waist and the added weight dragged her under the waves. Relena gasped in surprise, swallowing water, then braced her hands on Sally's shoulders, breaking through the surface of the water and paddling a few strokes away before turning to look for Sally's next attack. She took a few strangled breaths before sputtered indignantly: "You fiend!"

A chuckle answered her from the other side of the rock. "This is what you get for being too serious!"

She heard a slight splash from Sally's direction. Something brushed against her arm, and she laughed: she wouldn't let herself be caught off guard twice in a row. Taking a deep breath, she dove in to turn the tables on her friend. Two could play this game!

She felt an arm wrap around her waist, dragging her under, dragging her deeper than last time. Suddenly, the game didn't seem as funny anymore and she felt a stab of panic. She started to struggle, panicking. This couldn't be Sally; she wouldn't try to scare her this way!

Everything around her was enveloped darkness and, through the moving water, she finally made out the indistinct form of a man, faceless behind a mask. It wasn't Sally! Where was Sally? Relena's balled up fist hit the assailant in the chin and his grip slackened. Heartened, her lungs burning, she started up towards the surface, kicking as hard as she could, clawing her way up to the top.

A hand grabbed her again, around her left calf this time, tugging her back towards the depths. She sank, the faint bubbles of her useless struggle rising to the surface. Was this it? Was it her time to die? Everything started to go black, closing in around her, but, somehow, she saw his blue eyes staring back at her. Blue like the sea. Heero. She couldn't help herself -she opened her mouth to call out to him.

_Heero…_

* * *

On the small pier behind the shed, Heero was deftly untying the knot in the cord that kept a small boat bound to land, then grabbed hold of the sides to bring it parallel to the pier. He did not even notice his hands letting go and he turned around, scanning the beach urgently. She had called for him. A whisper escaped him, barely loud enough to reach his own ears.

_"Relena."_

He had heard her voice, faint and panicked, as if she herself did not know what was happening to her. He felt the urge to stand up and scream her name, to run along the beach and look for her. Instead, he closed his fist on the cord that was sliding through his fingers and steadied the boat next to the pier.

"Duo. Get in."


	6. Chapter 6

**June 6, AC 200 **

**0130 hours EST**

**The beach, Florida Keys, Earth**

Quatre barged out of the mansion, pelting down the path leading out to the garden, his pace quickening to a fast sprint as his thoughts raced to match. Would he reach them in time? What did they know that he didn't? Mere minutes later his bare feet hit the sand and his suspicions were confirmed. In the bright moonlight, he could make out two figures...and one had a long flowing braid whipping in the cool night wind. Without missing a beat, he yelled out: "Heero! Duo! Wait for me!"

The boat rocked beneath Duo as he settled himself. Glancing up, he saw Heero pausing on the deck. In the distance Quatre's voice called out. Instinctively, he shot to his feet, the boat pitching and rolling from the sudden movement.

"I guess your plot to sneak away without notice has failed, eh, Yui? Actually, I kind of like the idea of backup."

"You have me to watch your back." Heero replied.

Duo frowned at Heero, sick of his insistence for secrecy. He'd watch his back; yes he was sure of that. _Like when he stole the parts of my precious Deathscythe some years ago to repair his Wing Gundam._ Heero Yui had the bad habit of using the people he worked with. Yes, of course, he understood why. He was a professional agent himself, but they were all a team and had lives outside of the missions. They had homes and people to go back to. _Oh god, Hilde, what have I done to us? Don't hate me, please..._

He glanced back to Quatre, who waved at them frantically before stopping to catch his breath. _Perhaps he could help bang some sense into Heero_? This was the time to dig his heels in…even if they were firmly rocking on the sea. _Dramamine, where was my Dramamine? _If he kept rocking like this, he was sure he'd puke.

"Okay, Yui, let me make something clear to you. We're no longer on a suicide mission. We need someone to cover our asses if something happens. Now, I know I'm repeating myself here, and I don't want you to think I don't trust you, but I'd just feel a little better with more than two people."

"Maybe I was wrong. I should have gone on alone."

Duo brushed his hair from his face, half expecting Heero's gun to wave in his face. "Without back up we could die," he said, emphasizing the word _die._ He licked his lips, tasting sea salt. "You can't always do it alone. What the hell will I say to Relena if you get yourself killed? Damn it, I don't want to be the one to tell her you're dead 'cause you were careless." He was on a roll, but Heero's face was impassive as always. _What did the guy do? Glue that disinterested scowl on his face, or did he make that expression too many times and his muscles froze there?_

Exasperated, Duo threw his hands up, sending the boat teetering. Quickly feeling foolish, he grabbed the edges, balancing himself so he wouldn't plummet into the sea. "C'mon Heero, let Quatre be our back up. I'm not saying having him come with us, but let him come after us of we don't show in some amount of time... just in case of trouble."

Heero wasn't impressed. "I am prepared for all eventualities. Even my own death, if the mission requires it. You're here to blow up the base if I fail. I know no one will notice if I don't return. That is why you are the backup, and not me."

Stunned, Duo stared at him, not quite sure how to respond. He sighed, pondering how he could deflate his life is cheap speech. Then it came, bumping out of his lips without even a thought "Relena... Damn it, Relena loves you, so you have someone. And that little miss doesn't deserve the kind of hurt she'd have if you died. You choose to ignore it, cause it interferes with your 'mission'. But life is more than missions."

"My life isn't, Duo."

Pale, Duo blinked once more. Did Heero really believe his life was that worthless? For a while, he was actually hoping he had changed. _What in the name of hell kind of brainwashing did Doctor J and his bastard buddies do to him?_

"You're worth something! Jesus Christ on a pogo stick! Yui! You're my friend, doesn't that mean anything thing to you? Quatre, he cares, we all care! You're not a machine, you're a god damned man!"

Heero gazed at him steadily. Duo was wrong, of course. He had meant what he had told Relena four years ago, when he flew out to confront Zechs in Wing Zero. Life was a cheap thing. He saw it shattered too easily under his beam saber, in front of his gun, in his own hands...

_Life is a cheap thing…especially mine…_

Duo was also wrong about Relena. If she had ever looked his way, it was because of what she imagined him to be. He felt like an empty shell. All he had was this body, this body that wouldn't quit, and the missions that wouldn't stop.

It was so much easier to just do what you were asked to.

It was so much easier not to dream.

"If you are my friend, Duo, then come with me and blow up the base if I don't make it out on time."

Heero was asking him to put him out of his misery. Duo hauled in a breath and looked at the waves sparkling in the moonlight. He was a stupid ass dweeb to go along with this. "That was a really cheap shot," he said bitterly. "I don't take kindly to black mail, but you know how to pull my strings. Okay, I'll help you, but only if you promise you'll let me help you get a life when this is all over with."

Heero unzipped the top of his diving suit and fished in, his hand coming out with a small, tubular black metal rod not unlike a mobile suit remote self-destruct switch. He threw it casually to Duo. He would not promise anything, because he did not plan on coming back. "Let's go."

Duo caught the detonator, and seated himself back into the boat, studying the device. He had no intentions of helping his friend commit suicide. He promised he'd blow the joint, but would only do so after Heero was out and safe. He owed Miss Relena that much for making the world a better place. "Okay, let's get this ugly business over with… you know, Yui, I think you have to loosen up some. My advice to you is..." He stopped, and then shook his head. Telling Heero to get laid was futile: he probably didn't even know what the word meant, and if he did, he wouldn't care. He sighed and shook his head again, sending his braid slapping against the bow. "You know, when this is over with, I have a few films you have to see. They might help you loosen up some... and they're very educational."

Heero neglected to dignify his comment with a reply, and instead grunted as he drew his gun, snapped on the silencer in one fluid motion and trained it on the second boat tethered to the dock. Three muffled shots as he gunned the engine with his free hand and pulled the boat away from the pier sharply, Duo staring behind him, noting Quatre had started running again. It was too late, they were going too fast, and his features quickly faded in the dark as they entered deeper waters.

Moments later, Duo found himself alone in the dark with, as his only companion, the stern features of one Heero Yui, soldier extraordinaire and all around stick in the mud. The small boat hammered down on the waves, cutting through the sea effortlessly and Duo, amazed, watched the waves as they sparkled and reflected moonlight against the bow of the boat. At the rate they were moving, they'd be in the vast womb of the sea in no time. He sighed, and then slumped in his seat, closing his eyes. Another mission. A wave of depression swept over him. Was this going to be the story of his life?

_Hilde, I'm sorry._

* * *

Quatre ground to a halt at the edge of the pier and stood there, hands falling uselessly to his side, watching the small craft carrying Heero and Duo as it steadily faded into the horizon, the deep breaths he was forcing himself to regulate strangely in tune with the crashing of the waves. _Too late...I'm too late..._

With a glance around the pier and the beach just a distance behind, Quatre quickly scanned for anything that might help him catch up with his friends. The only other boat was sinking right in front of him. But could he swim? Could he catch up with the boat on his own? Shaking his head violently in an attempt to clear his head of errant thoughts, he regretfully turned away from the ocean, taking slow steps back towards the mansion. How was he going to explain this to Hilde? To Relena? Should he?

**0300 hours EST**

**Florida Keys, Earth**

"Duo. Wake up, we're almost there." As if to punctuate the words, the boat veered off violently to the right, the supplies they had brought lurching to one side. Heero's voice cut though his mind like a knife, opening his eyes to an expanse of boundless sea.

In the distance Duo could see faint lights sparkling along the shoreline, but they were pale, barely distinguishable from the winking stars above. Damn, it was too nice of a night for this bullshit. He'd rather be snuggled in bed with Hilde and her succulent, perky beasts, nestled against his chest... No time for fantasies, Duo reminded himself, drawing in a breath, noting the vague flicker of lights playing over the sea. It could be a buoy, bobbing on the surface, or a shrimp boat cruising the coast for a well-valued catch. His knowledge of the fishing/boating industry was limited, so he could only guess. Other than that they were alone. And, in the tiny little boat, invisible to all.

"This is it?" Duo asked, his voice soft and even. He quickly reached for his mask and spat in it to make sure it wouldn't fog, then rinsed it with the fresh salt water. "It's awfully dark, Yui." The boat stopped abruptly.

"It's always dark in the middle of the night." Heero's voice was hushed, but there was an unmistakable edge to it. "This is as close to our target as we can get without being detected. Take your share of the explosives and jump in. We'll need to swim the rest of the way."

Swim the rest of the way? Yeah, right, swim - that was easy for him to say. Duo stared at him for a long time, wondering if it was a good time to admit to his concern about the entire diving thing. He decided, rather quickly, it would be a bad idea. Heero would leave without him and there would be nothing Duo could do to prevent him from dying... and leaving her...

Duo shrugged, and shouldered his bag of explosives. "Whatever you say, you're the boss." Uneasily he clambered to his feet, gaze focusing on Heero as the other tied a knife to his belt. Puzzled, Duo stared at him wondering exactly what he was planning.

"Gundanium", Heero grunted as sole explanation. It wasn't until Duo pulled his mask over his face and dropped into the dark cold sea that he realized its purpose...

Heero zipped up his diving suit and jumped in the water. Resurfacing, he hand went to his belt clip and he took out the knife. Grabbing on to the side of the boat with his left hand, he jabbed at the hull, tearing through the fiberglass as if it was gauze.

_Goddamn it!_ Aghast, Duo kicked towards the Japanese pilot, hands reaching for his arms in a desperate attempt to halt his destruction of the only passage home. "What in the hell are you trying to do? Kill us both?"

"I am trying to hide any evidence of our presence", Heero said as he fended off Duo's flailing arms, "Stop this nonsense. I will make sure you come out of this. Just not on this boat."

Duo felt faint; it was pitch black down all around him, and not the familiar darkness of space. Heero's attempt at reassurance had the opposite effect to the one intended: it made him sick to his stomach. He pulled away, recalling his friend's hints at suicide earlier and realized he hadn't thought about returning from his, on the contrary, he had planned not to. Duo stared at him for a long time, recalling his own talk about being Death... Funny how he didn't believe his own press.

Duo licked his lips, tasting the salty water, then snapped the mask over his nose. "Yeah, well, you better have a plan, 'cause if I die here, I'll haunt your sorry ass with endless chatter for an eternity."

"Don't worry. If you die, it means that I have died before you. We better go. Try to stay close and follow." Heero replied. Pulling the mask over his face and taking his first shallow breaths of compressed air from his tanks, Heero dived in the inky waters.

"Who's the bigger fool, the fool, or the fool that follows him?" Duo asked before sucking in air from the tank. Moment later, he followed Heero's lithe form into the water. He had never been so terrified in his life.

Heero let his mind wander as he swam towards their goal. Duo had been right, he had no plans. Mostly because the orders had seem rushed and cryptic. He had no blueprints of the base. Nothing. It was just like his first few days on Earth, with nothing but vague mission parameters and the drive to find -and destroy- his Gundam before it could be used against the colonies. He was on his own. No, this time, he had someone to watch his back. It was only after coming to Earth that he realized how different he was from what was deemed to be a normal human being. Doctor J often smiled at him and called him 'a perfect piece of engineering', but he hadn't understood before he met others. Before he saw that they were not as fast, or as strong. Before he saw how easily they could get hurt. He often cursed his enhanced body, but on days like today, he had to admit it was convenient.

Heero reminded himself to slow down to make sure Duo could keep up.

Down through the depths they swam, their way only being lit by the dim waterproof flashlight in Heero's hand. It took all of Duo's concentration not to look away from the narrow beam of light towards the surrounding darkness. When you're this deep, you don't know up from down and he was beginning to get confused. Only the constant reminder that Heero was steadily guiding him towards some underwater base kept his orientation steady.

Swirls of cellophane forms whooshed by as they stirred up the pelagic life forms drifting in the currents. It seemed to Duo that they were descending forever and he wondered if Heero had prepared for rapid ascent in case of an emergency. They had already passed the fifteen minute mark, and were candidates for the bends if their return to the surface proved too fast... With another deep breath, Duo forced his mind to focus on Heero one more.

But something, a shadow, flickered in the distance... It was nothing, he told himself, in an attempt to redirect his rambling thoughts once more. Why couldn't he be thinking about Hilde in leather? With the breast cups removed...Sadly, not even that could take his mind off the feeling of being stalked. His heart thumped painfully in his ears, his muscles tensed and he forced himself to come to a halt, breath gasping, teeth gnawing into the rubbery mouthpiece. He was a professional. Professionals didn't get terrified like this. But he couldn't breathe, there was no air, and the mask was fogging up. Up was down, and down was up, he was alone in pitch with some thing watching. Listening, waiting...

Instinctively, Duo cupped his ears, trying to drown the sound of the frantic beating of his heart ... he had to get a grip; he was hyperventilating. Again, something moved in the dark. An opaque shape, like a torpedo, circling in the darkness. Or was it?

Heero turned around. Something was wrong: Duo was not swimming forward anymore, instead treading water and letting too much air out of his tank, obviously panicking. He bridged the few feet separating them in a stroke and grabbed his arm, shaking him roughly. This was no time for him to lose it, not with dark forms racing towards them.

Heero suddenly let go of Duo's arm, something deep within alerting him to danger. This was wrong. This was not the way it should be happening. He slowed the arrival of air from his tank to a mere trickle; he knew very well that using the normal amount was an affectation more than anything else, and that he could function efficiently with a lot less. Which meant smaller bubbles... and a more elusive target. He then turned off the lamp, pulled out his knife, and slowly sank down deeper in the murky waters.

The thumping of his heart deafened Duo's ears, as he hovered in the silent blackness of the sea. And waited. _Come on, Maxwell_, he told himself. _Get a grip_. With several deep breaths, he steadied his hyperventilating, and eased the terror back under control. He had little choice. If he didn't, he'd be dead. Duo unclasped the knife at his side and braced for impact.

Then it came suddenly, bursting forth from the darkness. Something human.. Duo's instincts took over and he found himself grappling with his assailant, knife inches from his face. Their strengths were evenly matched and they struggled for a moment. He briefly considering sinking down, and tossing him over his head when Heero melted out of the blackness and sliced into the fellow's air hose. Terror dawned on the man's features and he let go of Duo, body convulsing upward in a stream of bubbles.

One down, three to go.

He was about to give Heero the thumbs ups, when he felt movement from behind, then a searing pain. Something sharp embedded itself into his back, tossing him against Heero, and bathing the water around the two of them with dark ink. He reached behind him to paw at the source of the pain. One foot long. Thin and long. A harpoon.

_Damn thing would slow me down with the drag and I can't have that in a battle_, Duo thought before all that filled his mind was pain. Heero laid one hand on Duo's shoulder, his fingers digging into his skin, while the other wrapped securely around the harpoon. Without warning, he wrenched it free of Duo's flesh, the dark water absorbing any color that the blood would have made around them both. Duo's hands flailed as if to grasp Heero's hand and stop him, but it was too late. By the time he acted, the harpoon was gone and pain was lancing up and down his side like a thousand knives.

Heero caught Duo's hand and pressed it against the wound to stop the bleeding, then motioned to him to swim in a direction that seemed to be up. _He wants me to leave._ Duo looked at the darkness beyond them, ignoring the pain now throbbing rhythmically in his side. More shadows were on the edge of his vision. He nudged Heero, pointing in their direction, when another harpoon whizzed out at them.

Heero shoved his friend out of the way, the razor sharp harpoon impacting with Duo's air tank, releasing a myriad of bubbles around them. Air was leaking away by the second, sending a shiver of panic down Duo's spine. Heero deliberately maneuvered him to take the hit, of course... it was the only way to ensure that he would go topside, rather than bleed to death at his side. And he was losing blood by the buckets.

Wordlessly, Duo stared at him, letting him see the fear and frustration in his gaze. Black shapes were approaching, the divers with the harpoons, probably. Heero pushed Duo irritably in the direction he had pointed out earlier, and then shrugged off his air tank, taking out his knife and slowly fading into the dark water as he had done previously. Soon, he was invisible.

_Oh, boy, he was on one of his crazy and suicidal binges._ Helplessly, Duo watched Heero remove his tank. The sixty pound piece of equipment dropped easily and sank down into the darkness. Heero was going to die saving his ass...

Duo hated running away, but with the stream of bubbles escaping from his tank, he knew his time was running out. He had to leave or he'd die and there would be no one to protect Relena or take care of Hilde. With a lingering glance towards the direction Heero had vanished in, Duo began to haul himself up, following the bubbles. He had to move fast, before he ran out of air, but also pace himself, so that he wouldn't get nitrogen in his blood stream... the last thing he needed was to surface in the dead of night with the bends.

The silhouettes of the divers detached themselves from the darkness of the water and spread themselves out. Heero squinted. He could count at least six, one of which seemed to be heading in Duo's direction. He was his priority.

He had to protect Duo. If he did not come back, his friend would go on with the mission, would warn the others. His last goal was to make sure these divers would not reach him. Maybe this operation would not be such a failure after all.

He waited, unmoving. The first diver swam over him. Catching him unaware, grabbing his arm, Heero twisted it and sliced through his air hose. The compressed mixture of oxygen and hydrogen rushed out of the tank. The curtain of bubbles made for a perfect cover.

One down, five to go.

Another diver came close to investigate, shining a torch around him to locate Heero. He barely had the time to register a hand coming out of the bubbles, ripping out his access to his air supply. He flailed, trying to ascend as fast as possible, forgetting caution in his panic.

Two down.

Despite the pain radiating down his side, Duo managed to haul himself up, hands clawing at the mercilessly pitch sea around him. Higher and higher he climbed, mind focused on a single non-existent image: the surface glittering above him.

He could not panic, he could not rush; he had to pace himself carefully. There was no one on the surface to help him. He was fortunate the tight wetsuit kept the wound from bleeding too badly, for if he paused long enough to tie something around the wound he'd go into shock when the adrenaline vanished. And he'd be damned if that happened when he was deep underwater. This was definitely a lose-lose scenario.

Worst of all, his vision was blurring and his head was dizzy. It would take a miracle to reach the top before his air ran out. Without getting the bends. Without bleeding to death first.

_Fuck it. I'm a dead man - only an idiot would try and make it... I should just let go and die gracefully. _Duo thought, before a voice welled up from deep within him: S_ince when does Duo Maxwell give up and go out gracefully? _He smiled in spite of himself. He had to survive.

Duo was out of sight and the bubbles were almost gone. Heero sank lower, knowing that this time the divers would anticipate his trick. Yes, they had. Two divers were slinking behind him._ Duo, I hope you made it to the surface. I'm counting on you._

* * *

Duo knew it was time to face the truth and make some calculations. They had dived about one hundred feet, and unfortunately he had only swam about halfway at his pain-ridden pace. Sadly, he knew he had to stop swimming and stay at a single level for roughly fifteen minutes to decompress. If he failed to decompress, the nitrogen in his blood would just expand until the pain of ascent was unbearable.

He checked his tank gauge and. to his distraught, discovered he had about five minutes of air left. Yes, someone could free-swim one hundred feet, but it wasn't possible to do so safely if you had spent anymore than fifteen minutes under the water. And he had been under for almost twenty-five.

But he wasn't dead yet. Duo clenched his teeth. It was possible he could reach the surface before the bends set in and hail a boat. After all there was that shrimp boat earlier. There was hope. Slim hope. But he didn't like the odds. He had to decompress. The harpoon wound and the bends would sure send him spiraling into shock and death would follow…

He had no choice. When his time was up, he'd ditch the tank and ascend, releasing the air from his lungs as he went. Fortunately, lungs expanded when you went up, so if the free ascent were a short distance, he should be able to make it. He could only hope the harpoon didn't cause unforeseen internal injuries. Today wasn't the day that the great Duo Maxwell would become fish food.

With a mighty effort, he sped up, bends or no bends, he'd survive, he had to. He was determined._ If I could only see Hilde again_. He thought. _No ifs, I will see her again_. Duo insisted - he couldn't lose his faith - if he did so, he'd be dead. So, he kept her image in his mind. Then _she_ came to him_._

He abruptly stopped, his body hovering in pitch, puzzled to why she was there, with him..._Relena_.

Honey blond hair, sapphire eyes. Relena and her despair at the loss of Heero. By god, how was he going to explain to her that Heero had sacrificed himself for him? Duo Maxwell, the worthless street rat? What would she say to him about Heero? Why did he care?

Because she did so much for those around her. Relena Darlien changed the world with her faith in peace and determination to carry on the dream of her father, of the Sanq kingdom, and of Father Maxwell as well. _Never forget Father Maxwell and Sister Helen, _Duo thought. And Relena?

_Never forget Heero Yui...Heero dead, because of him, just like everyone else in his life...Poor Hilde, when would she fall prey to the talons of the Grim Reaper?_

The darkness closed in around him, and Duo realized breathing was becoming a little more difficult. The air was almost gone. Then something closed about his foot. Could this day get any worse?

With a gasp and spray of bubbles, the former Deathscythe pilot jammed his flipper-encased foot down on the iron tight fingers closed about his ankle. But it was impossible to get a good thrust with the water slowing his momentum. _Shit_

Looking down, the young man spied the masked face of a diver gripping his ankle and aiming a hand-held harpoon gun at his groin. _That's right, groin; good bye future Maxwell brood, goodbye family jewels... no way, no how, no thank you! _With a swift flick of the wrist, Duo unsnapped his tank, and dropped it, the useless steel container bubbling forth its final froth of precious air at Duo's assailant, blinding him for a moment.

The diver instinctively released his foot in an attempt to stop the tank from tumbling into his face. He had an opening. With all his strength, Duo dived, hand seizing the harpoon gun, setting the weapon off and feeling it hissing past his head. With the weapon disarmed, he lashed out, hand seizing the diver's mouthpiece. _If I go, you go with me... _

The diver didn't expect Duo's move and flailed, reaching out for the mouthpiece while Duo filled his lungs with several deep breaths of the air in the tank. Bolstered by his success, the ex-Gundam pilot slammed into his opponent, sending them both into a roll, while he struggled to keep control of the air... as sooner or later, one of them would have to drown.

* * *

Meanwhile, Heero smashed his elbow into the mask of the diver closest to him and felt the sickeningly familiar breaking of glass and bone. The other diver seemed to flounder for an instant, faced with an enemy whose air supply he could not cut out with a well-placed knife stab, and that's when Heero understood. _They were here for him. To take him alive. He could use that to his advantage. _The diver's hands wrapped around his throat, and he reached behind his assailant to yank out his air intake.

Four down. Two left. His oxygen supply was starting to get lower. Only a few minutes left. He needed to be efficient to be able to dispatch both of them in time to return to the surface.

Kicking, Heero ascended once more, throwing one arm around the neck of the diver. The man bucked, attempting to throw him off but Heero held on tight, yanking his mouthpiece away and ripping it from the hose. _Just one more... the one staying back, the one who looks like the leader... _As he processed that thought, Heero flinched as a harpoon barb ripped into his side. Ignoring the pain, he grabbed hold of the wire protruding from the weapon, wrapping it around his arm for leverage as he yanked them closer to each other.

But something was wrong, he could feel it. Something more than the mere loss of blood from the wound in his side. Something that was slowly coursing through his body, making him slower, making it harder to concentrate. The other was close now and he threw a punch, but missed the mark, his fist hitting the side of the diver's head instead of destroying his mask. Heero Yui never missed his target.

The man's head snapped back, even with the sluggish punch and Heero's hands reached to wrap around his neck and strangle him. His fingers tightened inexorably...

Then everything went black. _Ninmu Kanryou._

*******

**Authors Note: We'd like to thank everyone who has either made this a favorite, put it on a story alert, or, dare we say it, put us on as a favorite author. Please review if you like it and let us know which way you think the story will go. This is for all our new readers and the ones who make us feel warm and giddy inside. Special thanks to the following: **

**Kaze no Ato, Storms-winter, fantsticmj, oceany, Peri of the Elves, Im your brand of ,heroin, Tasare13, whispered25, knjsh, naruto770, ILoveCathy, wac-chick, dark11krad, Abeytu, beautiful-green-beast, pinkpantherprankster, Bloodfire87, Illico, JKWilliams, KayL1, Iris Irine**


	7. Chapter 7

**June 6, AC 200 **

**0145 hours EST**

**The beach, Florida Keys, Earth**

Quatre's feet barely seemed to make an impression in the fine granules of sand that made up the beach as he made his way slowly back towards the house, the slight motion kicking up small puffs of silicon, his mind racing with options and possibilities. What would he tell Hilde, much less the others? _Sorry, but Duo and Heero got away and while I might be a pretty good swimmer, I can't catch up to an outboard motor. Especially since, it seems that one of them had the audacity to put holes in the only other boat! _That would go over with them as well as the knowledge that they had taken off to parts unknown in the first place. But where? No clues but the note he had in one pocket and, knowing Heero, nothing else would have been left behind to explain his sudden mission.

Wait..._mission?_ Was that what it was after all these years that made Heero act in this manner? If so, then taking Duo made sense, though he felt an irrational stab of jealousy that Heero didn't feel the need to include himself or Trowa. Was that why the note urged Relena to leave, because something was happening that could threaten her or the peace? If so, then why didn't he warn them so that they could protect her? Because they would have insisted on coming along and jeopardized everything? Maybe that was why they'd left in such a hurry - he knew they'd heard his shout. Damn it, he wanted to scream in frustration - not that it would help anything more than making himself feel better for a split-second, but it would still release some of the tension he felt.

So involved in his thoughts, he didn't see the shadow behind him on the path, a dark shape detaching from the other shadows amidst the sand, sea and vegetation that lined the path. He didn't hear the sound of another set of feet padding in the sand, silent as his own. But the pain of a wire closing in around his neck, the feeling of firm steel cutting into his throat and choking off his air intake...that he definitely felt.

Suppressing the panic with a supreme effort when every instinct was telling him to scream, to grunt, to react in some vocal way, he breathed in sharply through his nose, battling the urge to struggle futilely, knowing that would simply worsen the situation. If he wanted to survive... He brought his hands up in a desperate attempt to grasp the wire that would be the cause of his death shortly if he didn't at least attempt something, anything. Rashid would be rather upset if he didn't put forth the effort. _It's...not going...to end like this...I won't...let it…_

His hands were beginning to feel a little damp as they grasped futilely at the wire, and there was a strange odor that was becoming prominent. Raising one hand up to face level, he blinked, mind catching up with the adrenaline that was flooding through his system. _Blood_. Instantly, the scent became recognizable, the heavy tang of copper hitting him like a ton of bricks. It could have been the blood, or the realization that if he didn't do something soon he'd be as dead as he kept thinking Duo and Heero were going to be. Whatever it was, instinct took over, combining with Rashid's training to make him ram his elbow backward with as much strength as he could muster. The blow connected.

The sound of bone snapping had never sounded _that _good.

With an almost satisfied smirk crossing his face, Quatre wrenched the wire out and away from his neck as the grasp on it slackened in the wake of his unpredicted retaliation, tossing it to the ground. Twisting around sharply, he grabbed hold of the man who had attempted to kill him, not allowing him to fall to the ground. The assailant wasn't exactly small, almost of a size with Quatre, but he still had that adrenaline rush to fuel him. He grabbed the man roughly by the front of the black wetsuit he was wearing, dragging him close, ignoring the sounds the man was making at he clutched at the ribs Quatre had smashed in. Quatre's eyes narrowed as he studied his captive - whoever he was, he was a novice. No trained assassin would come that close to a person he was trying to kill, especially not one with his hands unbound. It took him a moment to realize that the man had said something.

"They...told...me...you'd be…easy."

Blinking slightly, Quatre lessened his grip on the assassin, finding his voice. "Who told you that?"

The man fell silent, his eyes and face obscured by the mask he was wearing. Quatre repeated himself, allowing a menacing lilt to enter his voice, echoing his thoughts. _I don't have time for this crap._

The man laughed suddenly, malicious mirth that Quatre couldn't fathom. It was if the man had suddenly lost all reason, continuing to laugh, barely gasping for breath. Quatre could feel the anger beginning to burn. First, Heero and Duo went missing. Second, better yet, he'd missed his chance at stopping them. And now this, the third incident in such a short amount of time - an attack on his life by someone who'd been told he would be easy to kill. His face contorting into a rarely seen frown, he shoved the guy roughly away from him, slamming the man into the ground.

Kneeling down, the young man grabbed the man's wrist firmly with one hand, jerking it upward with a little more force than necessary. His voice was ice. "Tell me what I want to know. Or I'll find another bone to bust." He gripped the wrist for emphasis. "Believe me...I'll do it. In several places."

Surprisingly, the man managed another laugh, but this time, it sounded hoarse, somewhat weaker. Quatre paused, a flutter of concern overriding the building rage. Had he hurt the guy too much?

"It...doesn't matter. Your friends...are...probably taken...by...now."

Concern flew out the window. "My friends?" Heero. Duo. He had to be talking about them. "What do you mean, _'my friends'_?"

Silence.

"Answer me!" The anger was building again. _No...no...Quatre...don't... _Dropping the man's arm, Quatre lashed out with a fist, connecting with the man's face with as much force as he could muster. The other fist came up, lashing out as well. And again. And again. And again. And again.

It was only when he realized that the man wasn't responding...wasn't making any noise...that he stopped. Looked at his hands to see them covered with blood that was not his own. He was breathing heavily, as if he'd run a race against some unseen opponent and, maybe, won. _I...killed...him? _

The thought was questioning, almost accusatory. Emotion was flooding through the anger as he realized what had just happened and he started shaking uncontrollably. Tears...were those tears? Why was he crying? He'd killed before, though never so up close, so intimate. Always at a distance, the one-on-one battle of mobile suit to mobile suit, slashing at his enemies with the shotels of Sandrock. But never another human being.

_What have I done? _The thought echoed through his head and he stared at the ground that was soaking the blood but not registering the sight consciously, guilt nibbling at his soul. He'd done something so irrational, so out of character, that he wasn't sure how to react. This was a time of peace, something they'd all fought for, and he'd just danced merrily over the line while doing a simple interrogation. The man had information and he'd squandered it so easily before retrieving any of it. Heero and Duo were out there, somewhere, and taken, if he'd understood the man correctly. What was going on here?

That was when he heard the scream coming from the direction of the mansion. His head jerked up, looking back at the darkened shadows of the place he'd felt was the perfect vacation spot.

_One of the girls, not sure who...something is wrong! _

Standing up, pushing aside the warring emotions in his heart, he sprinted back up the path.

_I won't be late this time. Not too late…Please...not too late…_

**0145 hours EST**

**Seaside manor, Florida Keys, Earth **

Dorothy bolted upright in bed as a scream woke her up from her peaceful slumber. She frantically patted the edge of the bed, feeling her way towards the nightstand and the unfamiliar lamp as a slice of cucumber dropped from her left eye onto her lap. Her fingers finally connected with something cold and metallic and light flooded the room, making her squint. Half-blind, she peeled the cucumber off of her other eye and scrambled off the bed, rushing out of the room without even stopping to slip on her fur-lined mules. That scream had chilled her to the bone.

She hurried down the stairs, her fingers tightening on the banister as she almost stumbled when she rounded the corner, her vision suddenly obscured by night cream running into her eyes. She wiped the excess off with the back of one hand and took off towards the kitchen, where the noise had seemed to come from... furniture crashing to the floor and sounds of struggle made her pause in the middle of the living room. Leaning down, she knotted the edge of her blue nightie to get the flimsy fabric out of her way and reached for the poker that rested near the fireplace. She hefted the wrought iron implement in her hand and, bolstered by its weight, she crossed the large room quickly, skidding to a halt in front of the kitchen's door.

Dorothy couldn't believe her eyes: Hilde was backing away from a black-clad intruder, her back pressed against the refrigerator and one of the chairs knocked over, her eyes widening in terror, the scream she'd uttered earlier dying in her throat.

Hilde hadn't felt this scared in years, not since the war had ended. _Was this why Duo and Heero had left? What was going on here?_ _Where's Duo when I actually need him? _All thoughts were erased as the man pointed a pistol in her direction and all she could see was the bore of the weapon seemingly take up her entire field of vision, the light from above the kitchen table making it look almost pretty.

"Don't resist and no one gets hurt." The man's voice was harsh, low, with the scent of salt water wafting from him. She raised her hands, eyes shifting around to look for either his backup or perhaps some of her own. _Where was everyone? Wasn't this what the Preventers guard detail was here for? Why is this happening to me? _

Acting on instinct, Dorothy wrapped both hands around the poker and lifted it up over her head like a baseball player preparing to send one flying into the stands. One step, then two, and her makeshift weapon connected with the intruder's skull, then, as she came back with a swift backhand, impacting with his chest. He dropped to the kitchen tiles without a sound and she kicked the gun away from his hand before scurrying to pick it up for herself.

"How dare you interrupt my beauty sleep?" She threw a glance towards Hilde, who seemed shaken but unharmed, before heading out the other door, gun trained in front of her. A dark figure materialized in front of her and a shot rang out in the dark, missing its target as the recoil of the weapon took her by surprise.

The figure raised its hands up in the universal gesture of surrender. "Don't shoot. It's me, Trowa." The tall man stepped into the light still shining in the kitchen.

"Trowa!" Hilde had never been so happy to see people before, first Dorothy and then Trowa. She might not know them very well, today's events notwithstanding, but she wanted to weep with relief. "Who are these people?"

"What's going on?" echoed Dorothy, "Who are these-" The words died in her throat as Trowa pushed her against the wall and she slid down, her arms raised over her head, as bullets whizzed past, embedding themselves in the wall where she had stood. Without even bothering to stand up, she slipped her arm over Trowa's shoulder and pulled the trigger.

She heard Trowa's quiet voice in her ear between shots, "The mansion is under siege", another shot, "They stormed in from the veranda at the back", the click of the empty magazine, "I've seen three downed Preventers, we need to get out of here".

"I'm out of bullets."

Trowa pushed Dorothy towards the kitchen, reaching over her shoulder to flip the light switch down, the overhead bulb dimming quickly and plunging the kitchen into darkness lit by the full moon, a pale rectangle along one wall. "Stay low." She dropped the gun to the floor and crawled back through the door on all fours, hunkering behind the cooking island in the middle as she noticed Trowa rummaging through the drawers for... steak knives?

"I couldn't..." she started. To her, there was a difference between a rapier -or even a poker- and stabbing with a knife. Being so close, generating so much blood...she stared as the man methodically planted the steak knives into the wood of the closest cabinet door in a nice, even line.

Movement in the hall caught Dorothy's attention. Trowa pulled a knife out, holding it lightly by the blade between his index finger and thumb, before he let it fly towards its target. A scream confirmed that his aim was true.

Hilde stared at the young man, the one she'd admired at the circus as he stared down the daggers thrown his way. She was impressed despite the severity of the situation. _Guess he's been taking lessons from Catherine? _She glanced at Dorothy, eyebrows raised before a sound drew her attention, turning towards it.

A grunt came from outside the kitchen and then a thud against the door before a figure fell through, eyes staring sightlessly at the ceiling, blood streaming down his front and starting to drip onto the floor. She throttled down another scream, shocked to her core. She'd never seen death so up close and personal before and, to make matters even worse, it was a Preventers agent, Hawkins, if she recalled the quick introductions from that first morning. That morning, full of promise, seemed to be a lifetime ago. _That's only one...where's the others? Are they all dead...are we next?_ She'd wondered, mere moments ago, where they were. Now she knew. _Where are Quatre's men? _

As if on cue, Abdul turned the corner from the living room, hurtling into the kitchen and skidding to a stop when he saw them assembled there, dropping to his knees. "Where is Master Quatre? The Magunacs are scrambling, but we can't seem to find him anywhere!" The sounds of heavy footsteps followed his appearance and he ducked, a volley of fire knocking the ever-present fez off his head. "We need to barricade the doorways, they are coming from behind!"

He ducked again as a knife flew over his head, stopping one of his pursuers in his tracks, then turned back around, startled, as a loud crash echoed through the kitchen. Dorothy had tipped the wooden table over, sending empty coffee cups flying. Kicking the broken porcelain out of the way, she pointed at Trowa. "Why don't you help him block the door? You can't expect me to do all the work! Men can be so useless!"

"And you!" she turned towards Hilde, her hands now poised at her waist, arms akimbo, her face expressing the gravity of the situation, "What are you doing to be helpful? Screaming like a girl? Weren't you an OZ soldier? No wonder they lost! Chin up! I don't have time to babysit you!"

Hilde stared at her for a moment, then a small giggle escaped. Dorothy looked, well, ridiculous. A mini-general in a blue silk nighty, with pale green night cream smeared across half her face, the other half gone, giving her the look of a little girl playing commando. At a sharp look from the blond woman, she wiped the grin off her face. Defense mechanisms were great and all, but now was no time to lose it. "Yes, I was an OZ soldier, briefly. I'm surprised you know that."

Dorothy straightened and flipped her heavy blond hair over her shoulder. "I know everything."

"Of course." Hilde glanced at the others, noting at how deficient they were in the weaponry department. Crawling over to the door, she made a silent plea to the man's spirit, then placed her hands under his armpit's, dragging the man's body into the kitchen, effectively unblocking the doorway. Peering cautiously outside, she didn't see any movement in the shrubbery or odd shadows. After a long moment, she reached up and shut the door, sliding the lock home. "This avenue is secure for the moment. Abdul, where are the other Magunac's?"

The middle-Eastern man looked mournfully at his ruined hat, then pushed his round-lens sunglasses that he was wearing, even at night, onto his forehead, giving him an oddly boyish look. "Rashid is trying to gather the few others Master Quatre allowed to come along, in order to look for him. We heard your scream and then gunshots, so he sent me to help." He glanced wryly at Trowa, who nodded at him, one steak knife still held at the ready for another interloper. "Not that I seem to be much help right now, but I'll do my best."

Trowa looked at the others for a long moment, then seemed to come to a conclusion, his voice a low whisper in stark contrast to all of the noise and commotion just moments ago. "From what you're saying, Abdul, it appears that they're converging on our position. I'd hoped to move to a more fortified area, but this might be it. I hope it doesn't come to close-quarters combat, but it seems that we may have no choice in the matter." Even in the dim lighting, he could see resolved faces with set, determined expressions meeting his gaze. They had already shown their willingness to do battle, even Dorothy in her less than sensible attire. "Hilde, do you have any idea about the location of the others?"

The young woman hesitated, then nodded. "Duo and Heero took off on some sort of escapade - I wasn't privy to it." Her gaze shifted from Trowa's face to that of one of Quatre's most trusted friends. "I asked Quatre to try and stop them. I don't know where they went and he could be anywhere. I only pray that he's all right and not in any danger."

"I'm sure Master Quatre is just fine," Abdul assured her, giving her a slight smile. She tried to return it and failed, feeling miserable after her tale.

"It appears, from that one man's actions, that their motive is more capture and subdue than seek and destroy. At least, perhaps, towards those of us in the house." Trowa didn't feel the need to mention the dead Preventers agent against one wall, piled next to the either dead or unconscious man that Dorothy had taken out with her fireplace implement.

"You're right, he did say something along the lines of if I didn't put up a fight, things would be okay. Guess we screwed up on that one, huh?" Hilde mused out loud, then shook her head.

"My question is this: How did they know we'd be here?" Dorothy asked, shifting the poker slightly to a more comfortable position. "I know that Relena was advised to..." Her voice trailed off as her eyes widened. "Relena! Has anyone seen her?" A quick tally of faces and facts raced through her head. "No sign of Relena or Sally. Do you think they've been captured?"

"I don't believe so. I would assume that if that were so, the intruders would use them as bargaining chips against our actions. I can only hope that wherever they are is better than our position at the moment. There's no way of knowing either way presently," Trowa replied, inching over to the door near where Hilde crouched, lifting his head to peer outside. He could hear, barely, the sounds of close-combat from somewhere nearby, the impact of flesh against flesh and the sound of someone dying. "This is not good. They're pinning us in place."

His heart was racing, beating hard in his chest, breath constricting in his throat as he bolted up the path to the mansion, fear riding on his shoulder, an old and not necessarily welcome friend. His pulse, beating incessantly, was pounding in his ears, drowning out the sound of his own feet as they sought for purchase in the shifting sand that was so very different from the sand of his ancestral homeland.

_I won't be late._

Mechanically, Quatre's legs navigated the dunes that seemed to maneuver into his way of their own accord, nature turning against him to delay his arrival, to dog his every move.

_Too late...mustn't be too late...not again...never again._

He fell but, with single-minded determination, Quatre Raberba Winner picked himself up, ignoring the sand clinging to his hands and knees, ignoring every thing in the overwhelming urge to...to...what? Come to the rescue like some fanciful knight of old and save the damsels? Why were there no further sounds, no more noise? Shouldn't there be more screams than that initial one that had started him on the path? Some other indication that something was wrong? It was silent.

_Not too late. Not too late. Not too late. Not too late._

He attempted to breathe deeply, force air into his lungs...when had the mansion and the beach gotten so far from the other? He had to be calm, to collect himself, else he'd be useless, but the same old demons kept a steady pace with him. Rage. Fear. Anger. He shook his head silently, his body quivering with some unseen emotion even as his legs carried him closer and closer to his destination. The mansion was slowly getting larger as he neared, the eerie darkness of the building only further increasing his anxiety.

The young man hit a rough spot, a rock half-embedded in the ground that marked the edge of the trimmed lawn. He tripped, falling to the ground, barking the heels of his hands against the rock that seemed to have more of it hidden by both the grass and the darkness. More blood stained his clothing as his knee struck the same rock, the impact tearing through the skin, sparking intense pain through his body. He dropped to all fours, breathing heavily, sweat dripping into the otherwise dry sand.

Multiple gunshots rang out in the darkness, dispelling the silence. Quatre's head jerked up. His eyes narrowed and charged forward again, heedless of his injured knee. As he neared the darkened mansion, he braced himself and picked up speed.

One shoulder slammed into the door and Quatre teetered inside the room for a moment before coming to a halt, finding himself staring down a half-circle of men in wetsuits, their semi-automatic weapons pointed at him.

"Welcome home, Mr. Winner."

Author's Note: Wow, how time flies. Life does that to everyone and with work, school and additions to the family (no, not any one of us, just each in turn), this was sitting on the hard drive and gathering dust. Apologies all around!


End file.
